ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Liberal Democrats: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the answer of 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2242W, on Liberal Democrats: finance, what the  (a) status and  (b) timetable is of the Electoral Commission's investigation into the permissibility of the donations by Mr. Michael Brown to the Liberal Democrat Party.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that following the recent conclusion of criminal proceedings against Mr. Michael Brown, it has now resumed its investigation into the permissibility of donations made to the Liberal Democrat Party by Mr. Brown in 2005.
	The Commission further informs me that it will now aim to conclude the investigation as quickly as possible, but that its priority must be to ensure that the process is fair and thorough.

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the memorandum submitted by the Electoral Commission to the Public Bill Committee of Session 2007-08 on the Political Parties and Elections Bill, in relation to the proposed new trigger rules, whether spending by an individual in relation to a campaign on local issues, but not in relation to their candidacy in a future election, would count as a trigger.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that in the memorandum it submitted to the Public Bill Committee (PPE 04), which is available on the committee's webpage, it cited the issue of spending in relation to a campaign on local issues as one of the complex questions likely to arise under the proposed new trigger rules.
	The Commission informs me that, if the triggering proposal is implemented, it will prepare and consult on guidance on the practical effect of the rules. However, as the Commission noted in its memorandum, the question of when the regulated period is triggered will depend on the specific facts in each particular case.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what guidance the Electoral Commission has given on whether the underwriting of a political party and providing guarantees to auditors should be registered as a donation or a loan.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not issued guidance on the regulated status of general undertakings that do not amount to or relate to a specific transaction. However, the Commission informs me that its view is that such undertakings are not regulated transactions.
	The Commission further informs me that it has published guidance for political parties on the types of donations and regulated transactions that must be reported to the Commission under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. That guidance explains that regulated transactions include guarantees given in respect of a loan, credit facility or other transaction involving the provision of property, services or facilities to a registered party.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Prostitution

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many brothels have been raided in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Sport England: Public Participation

Richard Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations responded to Sport England's consultation on distribution of Lottery funding; which responded (i) positively and (ii) negatively; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that it recently published the results of a public consultation into the way it distributes around £45 million a year of National Lottery funding. 536 individuals and organisations took part in the consultation and more than 90 per cent. of them responded positively to the plans.
	Sport England advised that they cannot identify the respondents by name without compromising anonymity. Respondents agreed for personal information to be used as part of the analysis of findings only. However, Sport England can provide information on the mix of respondent types.
	Community and voluntary organisations (including community sports clubs) comprised the largest proportion of respondents (31 per cent.) followed by local authorities (18 per cent.). Private sector organisations constituted 8 per cent. of respondents and NGBs 7 per cent. This constitutes 33 per cent. of all National Governing Bodies who have applied for Whole Sport Plan Funding over the period 2009-13.
	91 per cent. of respondents believed that the Sport England funding proposals were likely to meet the needs of organisations involved in community sport.
	6 per cent. of respondents did not believe that the Sport England funding proposals were likely to meet the needs of organisations involved in community sport.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what level of radiative multiplier was incorporated in the calculations of the carbon emissions data shown in the Adding Capacity at Heathrow airport public consultation document; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation document, page 138, explains that the relevant assumptions are set out in the UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts report, available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/
	The radiative forcing factor is set out on page 74 of that report. This factor is used by the Department for Transport to uplift the value of climate change impacts to account for the warming effects of non-carbon dioxide emissions released at altitude, and is equal to 1.9.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of motorcycles which were being driven on the road without insurance in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no figures available for the number of motorcycles driven without insurance. Our latest estimate for uninsured driving is that in 2005 there were about 2.1 million licensed vehicles being driven uninsured (about 6.5 per cent. of the UK vehicle fleet). Information is not held by vehicle type.

Higher Civil Servants

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people his Department employs who have an annual salary of over  (a) £150,000 and  (b) £200,000.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport employs fewer than five people who have an annual salary of  (a) over £150,000 and therefore these details have been repressed on the grounds of confidentiality. There are no employees who have a salary of  (b) over £200,000.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, column 482W, if he will list the reasons why the Maritime and Coastguard Agency was given a spring supplementary estimate of £13,310,000 for financial year 2007-08.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency was given a spring supplementary of £13,310,000 in financial year 2007-08 to cover the additional costs of:
	the construction of their new search and rescue helicopter hanger at Lee-on-Solent; higher than expected fuel costs;
	additional regulatory and enforcement work; and
	additional support for the training of seafarers under the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) Scheme.

Motorways: Accidents

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has carried out into the causes of road deaths on motorways; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: All road deaths on motorways are investigated by the police authorities. Information on the deaths is summarised on a stats 19 form that contains detailed information on the contributing factors that led to the incident.
	The data can then be disaggregated to allow analysis of specific factors influencing road user groups or causation trends and thus enrich research into ways that road death and serious injury can be reduced, not only on motorways but on all roads.
	The Highways Agency also utilises road traffic accident statistics to provide the basis for assessing the effectiveness of road safety policies and the development of engineering design standards.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Interpreters

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many interpreters her Department employs for assistance with asylum claims.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 8 December 2008
	The United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) has a panel of freelance interpreters to assist with asylum claims. As at 4 December 2008, the number of interpreters registered with the UKBA Panel was 2,378.

Brussels

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on visits by its staff to Brussels in 2007-08; and how many such visits were made by  (a) air and  (b) rail.

Phil Woolas: All travel by civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental staff handbooks.
	The Department's accounting system does not separate expenditure on travel, by destination. An answer could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Mass Media

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations provided media monitoring services to  (a) her Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years; and what the cost of each such contract was over that period.

Phil Woolas: Media monitoring services have been provided to the Department and its agencies by five companies in the past three years. The following table includes the names of the companies contracted and the total cost incurred in each financial year. The information on contracts held by non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 EDS 81,012 213,145 166,711 
			 The Profile Group 3,574 0.00 0.00 
			 Press Association 3,773 3,452 12,583 
			 Durrants 16,686 0.00 0.00 
			 TNS Media Intelligence 1,912 0.00 0.00 
			 Total 106,957 216,597 179,294

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records her Department maintains of its expenditure on  (a) official hospitality and  (b) alcohol for official hospitality.

Phil Woolas: Home Office expenditure on official hospitality, including alcohol, conforms to departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, which complies with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Identity Cards: Finance

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department expects will be spent on the national identity card scheme in its  (a) first and  (b) second year of operation.

Meg Hillier: The National Identity Scheme Cost Report gives a breakdown of the estimated cost of implementing the scheme over the next 10 years. The latest report was published on 6 November 2008.
	An electronic copy of the report may be found at:
	http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/downloads/IPS-Cost-report-Nov2008.pdf
	I would refer the hon. Member to that report.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for Walsall North's letter of 4 November 2008, regarding a constituent; (HO ref: P1120638).

Phil Woolas: The deputy chief executive of the UK Border Agency, Jonathan Sedgwick, wrote to my hon. Friend on 5 December.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letters dated 9 October and 7 November 2008 from the hon. Member for Billericay regarding a constituent, Mr I Adewunmi.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 8 December 2008
	The UK Border Agency replied to the first letter on 27 October 2008 and Jonathan Sedgwick, deputy chief executive replied to the hon. Member on 3 December 2008 in answer to the second letter.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many buildings are under consideration for the headquarters of the security function for the London 2012 Olympics; and what criteria will apply to the selection of such headquarters;
	(2)  how much of the £600 million London 2012 security budget has been provisionally allocated for the headquarters' building.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much of the £600 million security budget for the London 2012 Olympics has been provisionally allocated for the headquarters building;
	(2)  how many buildings are under consideration to house the headquarters of the security function for the London 2012 Olympics; and by what criteria the buildings under consideration will be judged.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 Work is continuing to finalise the strategy and plans for the security of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. No decisions have been made on the headquarters of the security operations and no funds have been provisionally allocated for this purpose.
	Any decisions will need to take account of the operational needs of the police and other security agencies, affordability with the total funding envelope and the need to secure value for money.

Police: Finance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to remove the system of floors and ceilings in the distribution of Government grant funding to police forces.

Vernon Coaker: The Government made clear in the Green Paper 'From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our communities together' their intention to move to full implementation of the funding formula at the fastest pace that is compatible with ensuring the financial stability of all police authorities.

Proscribed Organisations

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many activists of organisations proscribed under terrorism legislation have been  (a) arrested,  (b) charged and  (c) convicted for offences under that legislation in each year since its introduction; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: We are currently unable to provide the information requested.
	The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Office are currently working with the National Coordinator for Terrorist Investigations to improve the quality of data relating to those arrested, charged, convicted and imprisoned under terrorist legislation and under other legislation but considered terrorist related. As soon as this is complete a Statistical Bulletin covering this information will be published by the Home Office.
	This Statistical Bulletin will include figures from 11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008 showing the number of people arrested under section 41, of the Terrorism Act 2000 or under other legislation where the arrest is considered terrorist related. Arrest statistics cannot be broken down further into the alleged offence being investigated against each arrestee.
	The bulletin will provide a breakdown of charges and convictions of terrorism related offences. It will show the numbers of people charged and convicted for the range of proscription offences as covered by sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, since 2001.
	In addition we will not be able to provide information on the convictions the police consider investigating at the time of arrest. All individuals arrested for terrorism offences are arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Terrorism: Detainees

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people suspected of offences under anti-terrorism legislation were held for more than 14 days before being charged in the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: To date 11 individuals have been held for over 14 days pre-charge detention. Six of these 11 have been held for the maximum 27 to 28 days, three of which were charged and three released without charge.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have spent on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) parties and (iii) decorations in the last 12 months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: In the last 12 months, core-DEFRA has not used paper Christmas cards, opting instead for a selection of e-greetings cards. The cost of the designs for these cards was £166.00. Everything else was produced in house; therefore there were no other direct charges.
	In 2007, Christmas trees and decorations for the main public areas of the DEFRA's estate were donated by Carillion, who were providing facilities management services to DEFRA at that time. To date in 2008, DEFRA has not received any donations or paid for any Christmas trees or decorations.
	DEFRA does not pay for Christmas parties for staff.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on  (a) flat screen televisions,  (b) DVD players and  (c) stereo equipment in each of the last three years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information is as follows:
	 2008-0 9 Financial Year
	 (a) Flat screen televisions: £2,698.94
	 (b) DVD players: £509.96
	 (c) Stereo equipment: £0
	 2007-08 Financial Year
	 (a ) Flat screen televisions: £4,707.00
	 (b ) DVD players: £412.00
	 (c ) Stereo equipment: £12,572.00
	 2006-07 Financial Year
	 (a ) Flat screen televisions: £6,837.00
	 (b ) DVD players: £0
	 ( c ) Stereo equipment: £0

Flooding Lessons Learned Review

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to implement the recommendations of the Pitt Review.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 8 December 2008
	The Government's detailed response and a prioritised action plan will be published shortly.

Flooding Lessons Learned Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  which of the recommendations contained in Sir Michael Pitt's final report on the 2007 floods have been, or are in the process of being, implemented;
	(2)  when he expects to publish the full programme for implementation of the Pitt Report; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which of the recommendations contained in Sir Michael Pitt's interim report on the 2007 floods  (a) have been and  (b) are in the process of being implemented.

Huw Irranca-Davies: We have already taken a number of steps in response to Sir Michael Pitt's findings and will be publishing a detailed response together with a prioritised action plan shortly.

Floods and Water Bill: Draft

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will publish a draft Floods and Water Bill.

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to publish the draft Floods and Water Bill.

Huw Irranca-Davies: holding answer 8 December 2008
	The current timetable is for the draft Bill to be published in spring 2009 for pre-legislative scrutiny and public consultation. The final Bill will then be available for introduction in a later parliamentary session.

Forestry Commission

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to page 119 of the pre-Budget report Cm 7684, what options there are for delivery of public value from the state in the long term in respect of the Forestry Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: A study of the public forest estate in England was announced by written ministerial statement on 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 37WS.
	This study will take approximately 12 months to complete and will include a full public consultation.
	As outlined in the pre-Budget report this study will also contribute evidence to the Operational Efficiency Programme as findings emerge.

Ivory: China

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with overseas counterparts on the illegal ivory trade in China; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: No formal discussions have occurred since the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Standing Committee meeting, held during July 2008 in Geneva, approved the one-off sale of legally stockpiled ivory in an attempt to reduce the demand for illegal ivory. We have been monitoring the lead up to the auctions of the legally stockpiled ivory, which took place at the end of October and beginning of November and will continue to keep in touch with the CITES Secretariat to assess its effects on the illegal trade in ivory.

Marine Management Organisation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effects of the proposed relocation of the London headquarters of the Marine Management Organisation on the services provided.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Much of the work undertaken by Marine Fisheries Agency (MFA) HQ is of a specialised nature, and includes meeting EU obligations. For these reasons, an Marine Management Organisation (MMO) skeleton body will be set up to start running from autumn 2009 to run in parallel with the MFA until 31 March 2010 to mitigate any risks to the current high standards of service, and provide the opportunity for knowledge transfer between new and existing staff.
	To ensure there is no loss in knowledge and skills from the MFA between now and autumn 2009, I will be announcing a decision on the MMO HQ's location as soon as possible. This is to ensure we have sufficient staff to cover the business over the transition period. We will ensure that existing staff work closely with both the MFA's senior management team and the MMO implementation team to capture knowledge and pass it to MMO staff who will begin to populate the skeleton body.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 21 October 2008, on value added tax on flood defences.

Huw Irranca-Davies: A reply to the hon. Member's letter was given on 8 December.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Minister of State plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 14 October 2008, on climate change.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Minister for Sustainable Development and Energy Innovation, Lord Hunt, replied to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on 24 November 2008.

Poultry: Death

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average mortality rate is of chickens bred and reared in captivity for meat.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA does not hold data on average mortality rates for chickens raised for meat.

Sewers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what progress his Department has made towards implementing recommendation 21 from Sir Michael Pitt on flooding regarding risk-based standards for public sewerage systems;
	(2)  what progress his Department has made towards implementing recommendation 22 from Sir Michael Pitt on flooding regarding industry pricing reviews and the sewerage network.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government's detailed response and a prioritised action plan will be published shortly.

Water Charges

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with Ofwat on the role of climate change adaptation in the Ofwat Price Review 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Ministers have regular discussions with Ofwat on a range of issues, including the 2009 Price Review. DEFRA has issued statutory Social and Environmental Guidance to Ofwat. This provides Ofwat with a steer on the key social and environmental policies that the Government expect it to contribute to in carrying out its role as the independent economic regulator of the water industry. This includes adaptation to climate change. The report is available on the water pages of the DEFRA website.

Water Charges

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's position is on the priorities to be achieved by the Ofwat Price Review 2009.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA's priorities for the 2009 Price Review are set out in its Statement of Obligations to water companies and regulators and its statutory Social and Environmental Guidance to Ofwat. Copies of both documents are available on the water pages of the DEFRA website.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Autism

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of employees in his Department have been diagnosed with autism-specific disorders.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department does not collect data on the number of its staff with autism-specific disorders, and to provide information on this could be only at a disproportionate cost. Staff are encouraged to declare whether they consider themselves disabled, but are not asked to state the nature of the disability.

Post Office Card Account

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Statement of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 970, on Post Office card account, if he will place in the Library a copy of the legal advice which said that his decision was the right way to proceed.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 8 December 2008
	Legal advice to the Government is confidential, and is covered by legal professional privilege. This enables the Government to obtain full and frank legal advice. For that reason, the Department does not intend to publish any legal advice it has received relating to the Post Office card account.

Social Security Benefits

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to a contemporaneous assessment of the effects on genuine claimants of lie detector tests for applicants for housing and council tax benefit.

Kitty Ussher: The Department for Work and Pensions is funding 25 local authority pilots of Voice Risk Analysis in housing and council tax benefit as part of wider efforts to improve customer service and reduce fraud. Evaluation of these pilots will include independent social research to determine the impact on customers' behaviour.

State Retirement Pensions

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance the Benefits Agency has issued to its staff on the practice of cold-calling pensioners to encourage them to receive their pensions directly into their bank accounts.

Rosie Winterton: Services to pensioners are provided by the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS)—the Benefits Agency ceased to exist some years ago.
	No such cold calling is being undertaken by PDCS. They are, however, contacting some pensioners to follow-up recent mailings about the payment options available to them.

PRIME MINISTER

Members: Electronic Surveillance

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if it is his policy that no  (a) telephone tapping,  (b) other interception of communications and  (c) electronic surveillance shall be authorised in respect of hon. Members; and on how many occasions since 1975, where the interception of communications instigated by hon. Members has been allowed, the interception has not yet been reported to the House.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) on 8 December 2008,  Official Report, column 15W.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Damian Green

David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when an official of his Department was first made aware that the hon. Member of Ashford was the subject of the police investigation which led to his arrest; when this information was passed on to a Minister; and to which Minister this information was passed on.

Liam Byrne: I am advised that Cabinet Office officials were not aware that it was the hon. Member for Ashford who was the subject of the police investigation until after his arrest. Cabinet Office Ministers learnt about the arrest in reports emanating from the media. A description of the exchanges between Cabinet Office officials and the police is being submitted to the Public Administration Select Committee.

Departmental Disclosure of Information

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants have contacted the Civil Service Commission in the last 12 months to draw attention to alleged impropriety in their Department.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) on 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 90W.

Futurebuilders: Catz Club

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood, of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, column 16W, on Catz Club, which other press releases have been removed from the Futurebuilders website on the basis that they are no longer an investee of Futurebuilders.

Liam Byrne: Futurebuilders England Ltd. (FBE) has confirmed that it has removed a press release about "Who Cares? Trust" on the basis that it is no longer a Futurebuilders investee.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

E-mail

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission who requested the suspension of the hon. Member for Ashford's parliamentary email account at the time of his arrest; for what reasons; and who authorised its suspension.

Nick Harvey: This is not a matter for the Commission. The House has decided to set up a committee to review this matter.

E-mail

Mark Harper: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission to which House official the police would be required to submit any request for access to the Parliamentary email system.

Nick Harvey: This is not a matter for the Commission. However the matter is covered in Mr. Speaker's protocol sent to individual hon. Members.

Right of Search

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what legal advice the Serjeant at Arms sought in the period between her two meetings with the police, on 26 and 27 November; and from whom she sought that advice.

Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission which hon. Members have  (a) had materials from their place of work taken from the Parliamentary Estate by the police and  (b) had computer files read (i) on and (ii) off the Estate by the police in the last 10 years.

Nick Harvey: This is not a matter for the Commission. The House has decided to set up a Committee to review this matter.

Right of Search

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission on what terms an hon. Member occupies office accommodation granted by the House; which officers of the House are authorised to grant access to the offices of hon. Members under the terms of Code of Practice B issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The House provides office accommodation and facilities to help hon. Members carry out their parliamentary duties effectively.
	Access to the offices of hon. Members by the police is not a matter for the Commission. However the matter is covered in Mr. Speaker's protocol sent to individual hon. Members.

Right of Search

Mark Harper: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission which House officials are authorised to grant a request from the police for access to  (a) the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN),  (b) PDVN email accounts and  (c) PDVN shared drives containing data belonging to hon. Members.

Nick Harvey: This is not a matter for the Commission. However the matter is covered in Mr. Speaker's protocol sent to individual hon. Members and in Mr. Speaker's statement today.

Right of Search

Mark Harper: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the House authorities require a search warrant to be issued in support of a police request for access to  (a) the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN),  (b) PDVN email accounts and  (c) PDVN shared drives containing data belonging to hon. Members; and what factors the House authorities take into account in reaching a decision on granting access.

Nick Harvey: This is not a matter for the Commission. However the matter is covered in Mr. Speaker's protocol sent to individual hon. Members and in Mr. Speaker's statement today.

Right of Search

Mark Harper: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether access to  (a) the Parliamentary Data and Video Network (PDVN),  (b) PDVN email facilities and  (c) PDVN shared drives containing data belonging to hon., Members, was granted to the Metropolitan Police as part of their search of the premises and property of the hon. Member for Ashford to the extent of (i) data belonging to the hon. Member for Ashford and (ii) data belonging to other hon. Members; in each case whether such access was supported by a search warrant; and what factors House authorities took into account in reaching a decision on such access.

Nick Harvey: This is not a matter for the Commission. However, the matter is covered in Mr. Speaker's statement today.

TREASURY

Child Care Vouchers

Mary Creagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies had taken up the child care vouchers scheme at the latest date for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: No official data are collected from employers regarding the offer of child care voucher schemes to employees. Child care voucher schemes are voluntary schemes and employers are not required to inform HMRC that they offer these arrangements to their employees. Research undertaken in 2006 estimated that approximately 2.5 per cent. of employers offered child care voucher schemes or another form of employer supported child care to their employees. This research can be found at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/report23-final.pdf

Exchange Rates

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the  (a) sterling and  (b) foreign currency liabilities due to non-residents in less than six months (i) in cash terms, (ii) as a proportion of UK gross domestic product and (iii) as a proportion of short-term foreign currency assets of the UK authorities and banking institutions.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Joe Grice, dated December 2008:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the a) sterling and (b) foreign currency liabilities due to non-residents in fewer than six months (i) in cash terms, (ii) as a proportion of UK gross domestic product and (iii) as a proportion of short-term foreign currency assets of the UK authorities and banking institutions. I am replying in her absence. (240301)
	The Office for National Statistics does not collect data for the remaining time to maturity for liabilities due to non-residents; they are solely recorded on the basis of their original time to maturity. Therefore, the information requested is not available from official sources.
	Quarterly data for UK short term assets with, and liabilities to, non-residents are published in tables B17, B18, B19 and B20 of United Kingdom Economic Accounts, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 951W, on excise duties: motor vehicles, for what reason comprehensive data on the carbon dioxide emissions of light goods vehicles is not available to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: Carbon dioxide based Vehicle Excise Duty for cars rests on data produced through the European Union-wide system of vehicle type approval. This system does not produce carbon dioxide data for vans.

Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the concerns of the Financial Services Authority about the position of Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander Bank which had been communicated to the Tripartite were first drawn to his attention.

Ian Pearson: As the Memorandum of Understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA sets out, the FSA informs the Tripartite of its concerns on a regular basis.

Mortgages

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Prime Minister's statement of 3 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 34-5, how many mortgage-holders have outstanding mortgage balances of  (a) less than £200,000,  (b) between £200,000 and £299,000,  (c) between £300,000 and £399,000 and  (d) £400,000 or above in (i) the UK, (ii) each English region and (iii) each of the smallest sub-regions for which figures are available.

Ian Pearson: The information requested is not available in the format requested. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) or the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) both publish data on the mortgage market, available at:
	http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Returns/IRR/statistics/index.shtml
	and
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/statistics.

National Insurance Centre: Newcastle

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Newcastle national insurance centre cost to run in each of the last three years.

Ian Pearson: The National Insurance Contributions Office (NICO) is only one of many occupants of the Benton Park View site, Newcastle. It is therefore not possible to accurately identify estates costs for just NICO.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 936-37W, on political parties: finance, 
	(1)  if he will place a copy of the booklet in the Library;
	(2)  whether it is the policy of HM Revenue and Customs that payments made to the Parliamentary Labour Party by hon. Members are tax-deductible.

Stephen Timms: I have arranged for a copy of the booklet, a copy of which is sent to MPs at the start of each Parliament, to be placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Tax law imposes strict tests on what relief is available for personal expenditure. In general, relief is only available for costs incurred by employees or office holders that are incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment or office. No relief is available for MPs' personal donations to political parties which do not satisfy this rule. HMRC's policy in interpreting this is set out in the booklet where it makes clear that tax relief is not due for payments to political organisations for party political purposes.

Tax Credit

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual cases of tax credit overpayments his Department has taken to court to seek recovery of overpayments in  (a) each month of 2008-09 and  (b) each year from 2003-04 to 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1926-27W.

Taxation: Medical Treatments

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of tax revenue received by the Exchequer from taxation of private medical treatment provided by employers to employees in 2007-08.

Stephen Timms: HMRC does not yet have information on the tax revenue received from the taxation of private medical treatment in 2007-08. The tax liability as a result of all taxable benefits provided by employers to employees is published annually on the HMRC website in Table 4.5 at this address:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/taxable_benefits/menu.htm.
	A forecast of the total tax liability from private medical and dental treatment or insurance provided to employees by their employers in 2007-08 will be published in spring 2009.

VAT

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his estimate of the cost to businesses of his announced change in the rate of value added tax.

Ian Pearson: The impact assessment setting out the compliance costs for business can be found on the HM Treasury website at the following address:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr08_vat_1845.pdf

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel have been  (a) injured and  (b) killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan since 2001.

John Hutton: The numbers of service personnel killed and injured while serving in Afghanistan are published on the Departmental website at fortnightly intervals, two weeks in arrears, at the following address:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/DoctrineOperationsand DiplomacyPublications/OperationsInAfghanistan/OpHerrickCasualtyAndFatalityTables.htm
	For convenience, the figures to 15 November 2008, the latest available, are reproduced in the following table:
	
		
			   Casualties (very seriously or seriously injured)  Fatalities 
			 2001 0 0 
			 2002 1 3 
			 2003 1 0 
			 2004 6 1 
			 2005 2 1 
			 2006 31 39 
			 2007 63 42 
			 2008 58 39 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide precise figures for injuries or fatalities resulting from action by friendly forces since it is not possible in each and every case precisely to determine definitively whether incidents were caused by enemy, Afghan or coalition forces.

Armed Forces

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what definition his Department uses of harmony with regard to each of the three services.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 Harmony Guidelines are formulated by the single services. Each of the services has a slightly different metric that reflects the ethos and expectations of armed forces personnel. The guidelines are kept under regular review in order to ensure that they reflect the operational requirement of the Department but remain balanced with the requirement of training and recuperation, including leave. Part of recuperation considers retention issues and the assessment of the work/life dynamic is of particular concern. Harmony is split into two related but separate requirements: unit harmony, that primarily relates to force structures and commitments; and individual harmony, that relates to the effect of all separation on individual service personnel.
	The Harmony Guidelines are given in the following table.
	
		
			   Unit Harmony Guideline  Individual Harmony Guideline 
			 Royal Navy Force planners assume that RN and RM units will, over a three year period, spend a maximum of 60 per cent. of their time deployed and 40 per cent. of their time in their base port The Royal Navy sets Separated Service as a maximum of 660 days Separated Service in a rolling three year period 
			
			 Army The Army uses FORM (Formation Operational Readiness Mechanism) to plan for Army units to conduct a six month operational tour followed by an interval of 24 months The Army tries to adhere to 415 days Separated Service in a 30 month rolling period 
			
			 Royal Air Force On the whole, the RAF deploys personnel on individual basis with the RAF Regt being the major exception. The RAF utilises the Operational Deployment Guideline to plan for personnel and units to spend four months on deployed operations followed by 16 months at base The Royal Air Force has a Separated Service planning target of 280 days in a 24-month rolling period

Armed Forces

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will break down the basic salary levels in the armed forces by  (a) service and  (b) rank;
	(2)  what the pay grades are of officers above the NATO rank of OF-3 in all three services, broken down by rank.

Kevan Jones: Pay rates for all members of the armed forces up to the rank of Brigadier and equivalent are recommended by the independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) in its annual report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence. Copies of the AFPRB's 37(th) report—2008 (Cm 7315) and its Supplement (Cm 7347), which covers the pay of service medical and dental officers, are available in the Library of the House. Both reports show the recommended pay rates for officers and other ranks, for financial year 2008-09, by service rank (including NATO equivalent) and spine point. The recommendations contained in both reports have been accepted in full by the Government and implemented with effect from 1 April 2008.
	Pay rates for all senior service officers of the ranks shown as follows are recommended by the independent Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) in its annual report to the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Health.
	2 Star—Rear Admiral/Major General/Air Vice Marshal (NATO Equivalent—OF7)
	3 Star—Vice Admiral/Lieutenant General/Air Marshal (NATO Equivalent—OF8)
	4 Star—Admiral/General/Air Chief Marshal (NATO Equivalent—OF9)
	Chief of the Defence Staff
	Copies of the SSRB's 30(th) report on senior salaries (Cm 7388) are available in the Library of the House. The recommendations contained in the report in respect of senior service officers have been accepted in full by the Government and implemented with effect from 1 April 2008.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces will be on active duty abroad on 25 December 2008, broken down by location.

Bob Ainsworth: The endorsed force level for UK military operations are set out in the table. While we do not routinely comment on future troop deployments, we have no reason to believe these figures will change significantly by 25 December 2008.
	
		
			  Location  Endorsed number (at 5 December 2008)( 1) 
			 Afghanistan 8,050 
			 Southern Iraq 4,100 
			 Baghdad(2) 250 
			 At sea 1,050 
			 Falklands/South Atlantic 1,500 
			 Qatar 700 
			 Cyprus 300 
			 Kuwait 550 
			 Kosovo 150 
			 Bahrain 50 
			 Bosnia Less than 50 
			 Other(3) 150 
			 (1) Rounded. (2) Providing support to the Senior British Military Representative—Iraq. (3) Small scale deployments in support of EU and UN missions, and headquarters liaison officers. 
		
	
	The precise number of personnel in each theatre at any one time fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits and other factors.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's housing sites have reported infestations from  (a) vermin,  (b) insects and  (c) any other pests in the last 24 months.

Kevan Jones: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Manpower

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel there are, broken down by  (a) service,  (b) rank,  (c) age and  (d) sex.

Kevan Jones: Information on service and sex can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 1—Total Strength of UK Regular Forces by gender. TSP 1 is published on monthly basis and the latest information as at 1 October 2008 can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/apps/publications/pubViewFile.php?content=3l&date=2008-ll-27&type=html&PublishTime=09:30:00
	Information on rank can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 9—UK Regular Forces Rank Structure. TSP 9 is published on quarterly basis and the latest information as at 1 October 2008 can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/apps/publications/pubViewFile.php?content=90.15&date=2008-12-03&type=html&PublishTime=09:30:00
	Information on age can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 8—UK Regular Forces by age and sex. TSP 8 is published on an annual basis and the latest information as at 1 April 2008 can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=l&thiscontent=80&PublishTime =09:30:00&date=20080529&disText=01%20April%202008&from =listing&topDate=2008-05-29

Armed Forces: Manpower

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers with the NATO rank of OF-3 or above are employed by each of the three services, broken down by rank.

Kevan Jones: Information on the number of officers with the NATO rank of OF-3 or above employed by each of the three services, broken down by rank can be found in table 1 of Tri Service Publication (TSP) 9—UK Regular Forces rank structure. TSP 9 is published on quarterly basis and the latest information as at 1 October 2008 can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/

Armed Forces: Parcels

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of parcels sent from members of the public to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan but not addressed to an individual which had not been delivered in the latest period for which figures are available; and how such parcels were treated by the British Forces Post Office.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 We do not record separately the number of unsolicited parcels received from members of the public by personnel deployed on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
	The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) policy is that unsolicited mail will be moved to operational theatres as and when there is sufficient spare capacity to move it without affecting the mail from family and friends. The recent MOD publicity campaign seeking to discourage unsolicited parcels has significantly reduced the volumes of unsolicited mail currently being processed by the BFPO and as a result the relatively small quantities of such mail are being processed with minimal delay. I should, however, emphasise that any return to the sorts of volumes of unsolicited mail witnessed last year could result in substantial delays to personal mail and we cannot allow that to happen.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ongoing pension scheme commitment is given to service personnel, broken down by  (a) rank and  (b) length of service.

Kevan Jones: All individuals are provided with an induction pack on joining the armed forces which contains information about pension provision. Similarly, when they leave service, they receive a leaver's pack which includes details about their pension benefits.
	Full details of all the armed forces pension schemes and their provisions are in the public domain and can be found at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/Personnel/Pensions/ArmedForcesPensions/

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured or protected Land Rovers of each type were deployed to Iraq prior to October 2003; and when they were deployed.

John Hutton: No armoured or protected Land Rovers were deployed in Iraq prior to October 2003. 208 Snatch Mk1 protected vehicles were deployed to Iraq in November 2003.

Departmental Lost Property

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) equipment and  (b) data was lost by his Department in the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1542-43W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces, to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps).

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records his Department maintains of its expenditure on  (a) official hospitality and  (b) alcohol for official hospitality.

Kevan Jones: MOD budget managers are required to retain the original claim forms for the reimbursement of official entertainment, and supporting evidence, for a minimum of seven financial years. The supporting evidence will show where authorisation has been given for both the consumption of alcohol at public expense and any incidental expenditure (such as service charges).
	Expenditure on official entertainment is recorded as a single discrete item in the MOD's Chart of Accounts (Joint Service Publication 530) and reported annually in the MOD's Departmental Resource Accounts, most recently on page 298 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08 (HC 850-1).
	The regulations on the provision of official entertainment at public expense are set out in chapter 45 of the MOD's Financial Management Policy Manual (Joint Service Publication 462).
	Copies of all publications referred to are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Public Consultation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) listening exercises and  (b) public forums his Department has held in each of the last two years; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost was in each case; which private contractors were contracted in respect of such exercises; and how much each was paid.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1548W.

Departmental Recruitment

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have joined his Department in a  (a) civilian and  (b) military capacity in each of the last three years, broken down by service.

Kevan Jones: Information on intake of civilian personnel in each of the last three financial years can be found in Table 2.33 of UKDS 2008—Intake and Outflow of Civilian Personnel. This information can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/UKDS2008/c2/table233.html
	Information on intake from civil life to the UK regular forces personnel in each of the last three financial years can be found in Table 2.19 of UKDS 2008—Intake to UK Regular Forces by Service and Sex. This information can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/UKDS2008/c2/table219.html
	Copies of UKDS are also available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Responsibilities

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which projects his Department has commissioned from  (a) think tanks and  (b) charities in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what the aim of each project was; which think tank or charity was commissioned in each case; and how much was paid.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1547W.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 27 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 631-32W, on departmental temporary employment, how many staff were recruited through each company in each year; and for how long on average staff recruited through these companies worked for the Department in each year.

Kevan Jones: I am withholding the information requested as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests. It is departmental policy that temporary staff can be engaged for periods of up to 11 months only.

Gulf War

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel were  (a) injured and  (b) killed by friendly fire during the 1990-91 Gulf War.

John Hutton: Information on casualties has only been centrally compiled since 2001 and it is therefore not possible to identify UK Service personnel injured during the Gulf War 1990-91 without incurring disproportionate cost.
	During the 1990-91 Gulf War, nine UK Service personnel died as a result of friendly fire.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any of the Jaish-al-Mahdi prisoners released under the prisoner release scheme agreed by the British Army and the Iraqi Government had been involved in attacks on British forces.

John Hutton: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 Under UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and subsequent resolutions, UK forces in Iraq are authorised to detain persons whom they judge to represent an imperative threat to security. This could include members of groups which may have been involved in attacks against Iraqi or coalition forces or have been planning such attacks.
	For all individuals detained by UK forces, the decision to release was taken by the Divisional Internment Review Committee on the basis that these individuals no longer represented an imperative threat to security. We do not comment on cases or circumstances relating to individual detainees.

Joint Force Harrier

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1554W, on the Joint Force Harrier, where the harmony records for the Joint Force Harrier are kept.

Bob Ainsworth: Harmony records for the Joint Force Harrier are not held centrally. Deployment records for individual personnel are held on the Joint Personnel Administration system. Translating these into exact Harmony records for units could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Piracy

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued to commanders in relation to  (a) detention of pirates and  (b) applications for asylum by pirates detained on Royal Navy vessels.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 Commanding officers of Royal Navy ships are issued with guidance on the applicable law and principles relating to the handling and detention of those suspected of committing offences on the high seas. I am withholding this information as it would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.
	With respect to applications for asylum, I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Veterans gave on 20 November 2008,  Official Report, column 669W, to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin).

Piracy

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance Royal Navy personnel  (a) have been and  (b) will be given in (i) the impact of human rights legislation on the ability to transfer captured pirates to other countries, including their own, (ii) the prospect of such captives claiming rights and benefits in the United Kingdom and (iii) whether to take pirates into captivity on Royal Navy vessels.

Bob Ainsworth: Commanding Officers of Royal Navy ships are issued with guidance on the applicable law and principles relating to the handling and detention of those suspected of committing offences on the high seas. More detailed guidance, specific to the particular operations or circumstances, is issued when required.
	Commanding Officers are not empowered to decide on an individual's entitlement to rights and benefits, including applications for asylum; that is a matter for the Home Office.

Tornado Aircraft

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Terma self-defence suite will be part of the initial operating capability of Tornados deployed on Operation Herrick from 1 April 2009.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 The Department has a policy of not commenting on the details of its defensive aids capabilities. The release of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Tornado Aircraft

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1559-60W, on Tornado GR4, whether the interim Paveway IV capability will have been integrated onto the Tornado before its deployment of Operation Herrick.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 I am withholding the information requested as its release would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Trident Submarines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Trident submarines are on active service; how many are being repaired; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: There are currently two Vanguard Class submarines in the operational fleet, which will be joined next year by a third boat on completion of sea trials following a Long Overhaul Period (Refuel) (LOP(R)). The fourth boat is currently undergoing a LOP(R).

Veterans: Compensation

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the Prime Minister's Answer to the hon. Member for Billericay of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, column 664, what measures the Government have taken to reconsider the atomic test veterans' claim in light of the most recent scientific evidence.

Kevan Jones: We have a responsibility to investigate all new research regarding the possibility of any harmful health effects of the nuclear tests we have carried out in the past. The Government have, therefore, studied the most recent scientific evidence from Massey University New Zealand on genetic damage in a group of Royal New Zealand Navy participants in the British nuclear tests. The study report expressly states that its findings throw no light on health effects. The Government's position remains the same, as previously stated, in relation to the common law claim brought by a group of veterans and deceased veterans' dependants or beneficiaries, of the UK's nuclear weapon testing programme. A preliminary trial on limitation is due to commence at the High Court on 19 January 2009.
	The wider published peer-reviewed epidemiological evidence to date has not demonstrated a general link between ill-health and participation in the tests. In the event, the vast majority of participants in the UK nuclear weapons trials did not receive any recorded dose of ionising radiation. Some participants received doses that were not significantly above zero. A very few individuals, because of their specialist roles, received higher dose levels, but within the safety limits appropriate at the time. Where the health of these participants has been affected by their service, we pay compensation under our no-fault compensation arrangements.
	I am determined to ensure that all avenues of research are looked at. I am therefore pleased to report that I had a constructive meeting with the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA) in late October to discuss the possibility of a new MOD study into health issues, particularly in relation to offspring. My officials are now in discussion with the BNTVA and scientific advisers on the scientific and ethical issues relevant to a further study. I am hopeful that I will be able to make an announcement early in the new year.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what dates the central fire service advisory committee has met since it was established; what the main outcomes were of such meetings; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council was set up under section 29 of the Fire Services Act 1947. The council was abolished under section 51 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. The information requested could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Coastal Town Network

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1276-77W, on regeneration: coastal areas, which central Government Departments were involved in the Coastal Town Network (CTN); how many times the CTN met; at what level each department was represented; and which local authorities were represented.

John Healey: Officials from six Departments (BERR, CLG, DCMS, DEFRA, DIUS and DWP) have been involved in the work of the Coastal Towns Network (CTN) so far. The CTN has met twice to date: in July and October 2008, with the next meeting planned for January 2009. Central Government Departments are represented at deputy director (Grade 5) and senior management (Grades 6 or 7) levels.
	The city of Brighton and Hove and Kent county council attended the first meeting of the Network in Brighton. East Lindsey district council, Boston district council and Lincolnshire county council attended the Network's second meeting in Skegness.
	Local authorities are also represented at the meetings through bodies like the British Resorts and Destinations Association, the Coastal Communities Alliance and the BURA—British Urban Regeneration Association—Seaside Network.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what records her Department maintains of its expenditure on  (a) official hospitality and  (b) alcohol for official hospitality.

Sadiq Khan: All expenditure on official hospitality is recorded on the Department's finance system. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1261W, to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald).

Fire Services: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received from fire fighters on their status as statutory consultees on flooding emergencies.

Sadiq Khan: Following the extensive floods during the summer of 2007 Sir Ken Knight, Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser conducted a review into the response of the fire and rescue service to the floods, and Sir Michael Pitt conducted a wide-ranging, independent review into floods. During the course of these two reviews and ensuing work, many representations were received from the fire and rescue service, including the Chief Fire Officers Association and the Fire Brigades Union. The two reviews were published earlier this year. The Government's response to Sir Michael's report is expected to be published shortly.

Fire Services: Manpower

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) full-time and  (b) retained fire officers there were in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The number of whole-time and retained firefighters in England since 1997, as at 31 March each year, is shown as follows.
	
		
			  Whole - time and retained duty system firefighters in England 
			   Whole - time  Retained  Total 
			 1997 32,033 13,016 45,049 
			 1998 31,855 12,847 44,702 
			 1999 31,918 13,022 44,940 
			 2000 31,616 13,021 44,637 
			 2001 31,597 13,097 44,694 
			 2002 31,592 13,013 44,605 
			 2003 31,614 13,044 44,658 
			 2004 31,856 13,015 44,871 
			 2005 31,053 13,543 44,596 
			 2006 30,744 13,927 44,671 
			 2007 30,804 14,212 45,016 
			 2008 30,824 14,166 44,990 
			  Source: Annual Returns to Communities and Local Government

Fire Services: Training

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many weeks intensive training is required to be undertaken by fire service recruits in each of the fire authority areas in each of the last six years.

Sadiq Khan: The information requested is not held centrally.

Fire Services: Urban Areas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of lives saved through the Urban Search and Rescue programme since its inception in February 2008.

Sadiq Khan: Different elements of the urban search and rescue capability are used routinely by Fire and Rescue Services at the local level. The Department does not hold statistics on the number of lives saved through deployment of the urban search and rescue capability.

Fire Services: Urban Areas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the welfare of dogs involved in the Fire Service's Urban Search and Rescue programme is monitored; and with whom responsibility for such monitoring lies.

Sadiq Khan: As part of the New Dimension programme, CLG has provided funding for 20 Urban Search and Rescue teams, hosted by Fire and Rescue Services across the country. As part of each of these teams, the Department has made provision for a search and rescue dog and a handler. Responsibility for the welfare of the dogs lies with the host brigades.

Home Information Packs

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research her Department has carried out on the effect of home information packs on the housing market; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Hollobone) on 14 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1089W.

Homelessness: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless  (a) children and  (b) adults are in temporary accommodation in each local authority area in Essex.

Iain Wright: Information about English local authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level, about households rather than individuals.
	Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
	Information on the numbers of households housed in temporary accommodation is reported quarterly by local authorities as at the last day of each quarter. The figures include: those households which have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which inquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority, and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.
	The number of dependent children (or expected children) in these households is also collected, but data on the number of adults is not. The latest (end June 2008) figures for total households and total children reported by the Essex authorities are shown in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Households in temporary accommodation, and number of children within these households (as at 30 June 2008) 
			  Local authority  Total households in TA arranged by authority  Total children (and expected children) within these households 
			 Basildon 315 382 
			 Braintree 67 75 
			 Brentwood 92 139 
			 Castle Point 118 176 
			 Chelmsford 83 57 
			 Colchester 191 265 
			 Epping Forest 79 98 
			 Harlow 233 229 
			 Maldon 38 49 
			 Rochford 34 51 
			 Southend-on-Sea 49 103 
			 Tendring 172 206 
			 Thurrock 66 74 
			 Uttlesford 27 27 
		
	
	Authorities also report the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by each authority, who have been housed outside the borough. Latest figures reported by the Essex authorities are shown in Table 2. Data specifically on the number of children and adults housed outside the borough are not held centrally.
	
		
			  Table 2: Households in temporary accommodation, and of which those housed outside the borough (as at 30 June 2008) 
			  Local authority  Total households in TA arranged by authority  of which the number housed outside borough 
			 Basildon 315 0 
			 Braintree 67 0 
			 Brentwood 92 0 
			 Castle Point 118 10 
			 Chelmsford 83 0 
			 Colchester 191 6 
			 Epping Forest 79 7 
			 Harlow 233 0 
			 Maldon 38 4 
			 Rochford 34 15 
			 Southend-on-Sea 49 0 
			 Tendring 172 0 
			 Thurrock 66 3 
			 Uttlesford 27 0

Housing Revenue Accounts

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what figures were included within the formula to account for provision for debt servicing for those authorities that received positive subsidy under the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system for 2008-09.

Iain Wright: Out of 204 local authorities with a Housing Revenue Account, 178 have the servicing of a notional level of debt, the Subsidy Capital Financing Requirement (SCFR) supported by the HRA subsidy system. The remaining 26 are considered to be debt free and have a zero or negative SCFR. Of the 178 local authorities that have a level of debt supported by the HRA subsidy system 43 are in positive subsidy. In addition those authorities in Rounds 1 and 2 of the ALMO (Arms Length Management Organisation) programme receive an ALMO allowance to support the associated borrowing. For all other ALMOs the support for the associated borrowing is included within the SCFR. The support for debt servicing is then offset against other elements of the subsidy system to determine net subsidy entitlement.
	The following table lists the SCFR and ALMO allowance for authorities likely to be in receipt of subsidy for 2008-09.
	
		
			  £ 
			   SCFR  ALMO allowance (Round 1 and 2 only( 1) ) 
			 Ashfield 34,093,939 4,425,600 
			 Barnsley 132,249,400 11,328,000 
			 Blackpool 33,850,983 0 
			 Blyth Valley 34,843,948 3,868,640 
			 Bolton 131,156,102 12,604,800 
			 Braintree 7,356,989 0 
			 Brent 343,290,867 4,320,000 
			 Camden 523,110,271 0 
			 City of London 13,990,928 0 
			 Derby 111,264,305 7,774,080 
			 Doncaster 219,278,605 0 
			 Ealing 314,717,560 0 
			 Easington 68,691,319 0 
			 Eastbourne 45,731,010 0 
			 Gateshead 266,985,653 0 
			 Greenwich 418,654,476 0 
			 Hackney 702,774,111 0 
			 Hammersmith 384,753,640 0 
			 Haringey 445,710,700 0 
			 Hounslow 164,486,906 7,972,000 
			 Islington 777,567,091 0 
			 Kensington 150,637,763 3,475,120 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 225,648,897 0 
			 Kirklees 127,168,814 11,984,000 
			 Lambeth 566,740,126 0 
			 Leeds 400,860,237 32,811,124 
			 Leicester 209,008,128 0 
			 Lewisham 372,292,767 0 
			 Liverpool 564,864,169 0 
			 Manchester 693,928,643 0 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 542,135,600 0 
			 Newham 601,918,159 0 
			 Nottingham 272,639,181 0 
			 Oldham 127,656,709 6,912,000 
			 Rochdale 134,476,958 8,504,000 
			 Salford 269,162,203 0 
			 Sheffield 746,430,799 0 
			 South Norfolk(2) 0 0 
			 Southwark 743,772,141 0 
			 Stockton 85,651,501 5,040,000 
			 Tower Hamlets 427,383,831 0 
			 Waltham Forest 254,266,667 0 
			 Westminster 183,093,347 5,920,000 
			 Wigan 116,422,575 10,984,000 
			 Wansbeck(2) 0 0 
			 (1) A Borrowing associated with later ALMO rounds is incorporated within the SCFR. (2) South Norfolk and Wansbeck have undertaken Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) and are likely to receive very small amounts of residual subsidy in 2008-09.  Note: All these figures are provisional and subject to change later in the financial year.

Housing: Low Incomes

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps have been taken to ensure that access to the MyChoiceHomeBuy scheme is equitable across regions and counties.

Iain Wright: The MyChoiceHomeBuy scheme is delivered by equity loan providers, who were selected following a competitive bidding process to ensure national coverage and a choice for customers. The scheme is demand led. Initial allocations to providers followed the indicative regional split of the overall National Affordable Housing Programme, which is based on a formula that reflects key policy outcomes. Initial allocations are then reviewed periodically and adjusted according to levels of actual demand.

Housing: Wellingborough

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will visit Wellingborough to discuss future housing development in the area.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government Ministers are more than happy to discuss housing development in Wellingborough when we next visit north Northamptonshire.

Regional Development Agencies: Political Impartiality

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what requirements in respect of political impartiality there are on directors of regional development agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	Each regional development agency has a code of practice for all staff, including directors and board members, in line with the model code produced by the Cabinet Office. All staff are required to conduct themselves with integrity and impartiality, whatever their personal political views.

Regional Planning and Development: Northamptonshire

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation is required to prepare a statement of community involvement.

Sadiq Khan: West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) is a local delivery vehicle. It does not have development plan powers and is not required to prepare a statement of community involvement.

Regional Planning and Development: South West

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to respond to the consultation on the South West Regional Spatial Strategy.

Sadiq Khan: holding answer 8 December 2008
	The Secretary of State received around 35,000 responses from individuals and organisations to the consultation on her Proposed Changes to the South West Regional Spatial Strategy. This is the largest number ever received to such a consultation. My officials at the Government Office for the South West are currently assessing the responses and the Secretary of State will consider proposals for a revised timetable shortly.

Sewers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the implementation of the recommendations in Sir Michael Pitt's final report on the 2007 floods that the automatic right to connect surface water drainage from new developments to the sewerage system be removed.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	We have already taken a number of steps in response to Sir Michael Pitt's findings and will be publishing a detailed response together with a prioritised action plan shortly.

Tenants rights

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department takes to protect tenants of private landlords who have their property repossessed.

Iain Wright: We believe it is good practice where possible for the lender to let the tenancy run and use the rental payments to cover the mortgage repayments until the end of the tenancy or where the tenancy has become a periodic tenancy to give the statutory two month notice period as a minimum. Where this is not possible we would hope that as a matter of best practice the mortgage lender would feel able to keep the tenant informed and to give them as much notice as possible if they have to find alternative accommodation.
	Officials are in discussions with the Council of Mortgage Lenders to explore ways in which best practice can be implemented and tenants can be kept better informed in these situations.
	If a tenant becomes homeless as a result of their landlord's failure to keep up with mortgage payments the local council should be able to help in terms of providing temporary accommodation and assisting the tenant in their search for somewhere to live.

Travelling People: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1287-88W, on Travelling people: coastal areas, what assessment her Department has made of the needs of non-migrant transient populations in seaside towns;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1280W, on the revenue support grant, if she will consider the introduction of an explicit measure of transient population as part of formula grant distribution system.

John Healey: The CLG Committee report on coastal towns published in March 2007 defined 'transient populations' in the broadest sense to be composed of UK adults of working age (who may move with their children) and overseas migrant workers who move on a frequent basis.
	There is, however, no consistent definition of transient populations and therefore no centrally produced measure of them. Given this, it is not possible to assess the needs of non-migrant transient populations in seaside towns or to include an explicit measure of such populations, as part of the formula distribution system.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her reasons were for recovering the planning appeals relating to the wind farms at  (a) Crook Hill,  (b) Todmorden Moor and  (c) Reaps Moss.

Sadiq Khan: The reason for recovering these appeals was as a result of public interest in the proposals, being development of major importance having more than local significance, particularly bearing in mind the cumulative impact that the proposals could have.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Brussels

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department spent on visits by its staff to Brussels in 2007-08; and how many such visits were made by  (a) air and  (b) rail.

Patrick McFadden: The Department spent £325,396 on visits to Brussels during the period 2007-08. This figure includes hotel accommodation.
	The number of visits by air and rail was:
	 (a) air: 69
	 (b) rail: 1,334
	All travel by Civil Servants is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental handbook.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department are employed to assist special advisers.

Patrick McFadden: There are currently three full-time equivalent staff employed to assist the Special Advisers.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Telephone Services

Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer of 20 November 2008,  Official Report, column 679W, on Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: telephone services, when he expects Ofcom's new guidance to be published.

Patrick McFadden: Ofcom does not currently have any plans to issue further guidance for public bodies on the use of 03 or any other number. I understand that Department for Transport is waiting for the conclusion of Ofcom's work on its proposals to make changes to charging arrangements for 0870 numbers. I understand that Ofcom is aiming to publish this policy statement by the end of this year.

EU Working Time Directive

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the vote in the European Parliament scheduled for 17 December 2008 on amendments to the EU Working Time Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Working Time Common Position that was agreed by the Employment Council in June of this year represents a good outcome for Europe—it provides a fair deal for workers, without damaging competitiveness and so putting jobs at risk. The UK remains fully committed to that Common Position, in particular its maintenance of the right of individuals to opt out of the maximum 48 week if they wish. UK Ministers have maintained regular contact with counterparts across the EU on this issue, and hope the European Parliament will vote to support the Common Position on 17 December.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons the letter sent to his Department by the hon. Member for Walsall North dated 5 November 2008 regarding a constituent was not referred to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport until the end of November.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 8 December 2008
	 The letter from my hon. Friend was referred to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 14 November.

Office of Communications: Manpower

Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many staff Ofcom employs; at what cost; and what budget has been set for Ofcom for  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Patrick McFadden: I am informed by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) that as of the 31 March 2008, Ofcom employed 812 members of staff and the total staff costs for the financial year ending 31 March 2008 was £60.8 million.
	Ofcom sets its budget on an annual basis, which is published on the 31 March of every year, and I am therefore unable to provide all the requested information. Ofcom's budget for 2008-09 will be £133.7 million, 1.5 per cent. lower in real terms than its budget for 2007-08 and 17.5 per cent. lower in real terms than Ofcom's original full-year budget set in 2004-5. Additionally, Ofcom agreed a four year funding settlement with Her Majesty's Treasury on 24 February 2007, and for 2009-10 and 2010-11 it is £142 million and £143 million respectively.

Office of Fair Trading: Complaints

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which bodies are designated as bodies able to make super complaints to the Office of Fair Trading pursuant to the provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002.

Gareth Thomas: The following bodies are designated super-complainants: the Campaign for Real Ale Limited; the Consumer Council for Water ("Watervoice"); the Consumers' Association ("Which?"); the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland; the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux; and the National Consumer Council ("Consumer Focus").

Overseas Trade: Australia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department spent on promoting trade between the UK and Australia in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Political Levy

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 907W, on the political levy, what guidance his Department issues on whether material which promotes a political party may be sent out with the ballot papers for the political levy ballot; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Department does not issue guidance on this issue.

HEALTH

Allergies: Doctors

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist allergy doctors have been employed by the NHS in each of the last five years; and how many are expected to be employed in each of the next five years.

Ann Keen: The number of doctors working in the allergy speciality in each of the last five years is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007 45 
			 2006 24 
			 2005 16 
			 2004 36 
			 2003 24 
		
	
	Work force planning is the responsibility of local national health service organisations who are best placed to ensure that the workforce is available to meet the needs of their local community.

Allergies: Vaccinations

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) evaluated and  (b) commissioned on the effectiveness of allergy vaccines in treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: None.

Cancer

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he has completed his assessment of options for providing modern proton therapy services;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made in the pilot training programme for laparoscopic colorectal cancer; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent progress has been made on the National Cancer Equality Initiative; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what recent progress has been made on the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative relating to cancer; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  whether the extension of the age range for breast cancer screening to include women aged 47 to 73 years has been implemented;
	(6)  what progress his Department has made in its work on digital mammography; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  whether the national roll-out of liquid-based cytology to all laboratories has been completed;
	(8)  whether the review of the Prostate Cancer Risk-management Programme has been completed;
	(9)  when he expects the Prostate Cancer Risk-management Programme to be relaunched;
	(10)  what recent progress has been made on the National Cancer Survivors Initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: This information can be found in the first annual report of the 'Cancer Reform Strategy, Cancer Reform Strategy: Maintaining momentum, building for the future—first annual report', published on 1 December 2008. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.

Cervical Cancer

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the level of regional differences in cervical cancer rates in England; what steps his Department is taking to reduce higher rates; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many women were  (a) called for a smear test and  (b) attended the screening in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to increase the attendance rate for cervical screenings;
	(4)  what steps his Department is taking to improve awareness of cervical cancer amongst people in deprived areas.

Ann Keen: In 2007-08, 4,177,720 women were invited for cervical screening by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England, and 3,374,826 women were screened.
	On 2 December 2008, the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) published a study showing that women living in more deprived areas were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than those living in more affluent areas. In the most deprived areas of England, there were 12 women per 100,000 diagnosed with cervical cancer between 2000 and 2004, compared to only six per 100,000 in the most affluent areas. The researchers mainly attributed this gap to the lower uptake of cervical screening in deprived areas.
	The Cancer Reform Strategy, published in December 2007, (a copy of which has already been placed in the Library) said that we wished to reduce the variation of cervical screening coverage between primary care trusts. NHS Cancer Screening Programmes have commissioned the Improvement Foundation to work with six primary care trusts with deprived communities to develop and test initiatives that aim to improve the uptake of cervical screening in women aged 25 to 35. They are using social marketing techniques and, once the different possible initiatives have been evaluated, the results will be disseminated. The project begins in January 2009 and will run for one year.
	In addition, in order to provide services with an incentive to introduce higher coverage, the decision has been taken to have a tariff for cervical screening. This is being taken forward by the Department working closely with NHS Cancer Screening Programmes.

Continuing Care: Standards

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data his Department routinely collect in respect of continuing care.

Phil Hope: The Department routinely collects, quarterly by primary care trust, a return showing the number of people in receipt of continuing care on that day.

Dental Services: Children

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the relative condition of children's teeth in England in comparison  (a) with previous years and  (b) with other EU countries for benchmarking purposes.

Ann Keen: There has been a most impressive improvement in children's oral health. National surveys undertaken every 10 years show that between 1973 and 2003 the proportion of children starting school with no experience of tooth decay increased from 30 per cent. to 59 per cent. Over the same period, the proportion of 12-year-old children with decayed missing, or filled (DMFT) permanent teeth has fallen from 93 per cent. to a historic low of 38 per cent. As the following extract from The World Health Organisation Global Database of Oral Health shows, in this age group, the United Kingdom and Germany have the lowest levels of tooth decay.
	
		
			  Europe 2002-06, DMFT for 12-year-olds 
			  Country  Year  DMFT 
			 Austria 2002 1 
			 Cyprus 2005 1.14 
			 Czech Republic 2002 2.5 
			 Denmark 2006 0.8 
			 France 2006 1.2 
			 Germany 2005 0.7 
			 Iceland 2005 1.4 
			 Ireland 2002 1.1 
			 Italy 2004 1.1 
			 Latvia 2004 3.4 
			 Netherlands 2002 0.8 
			 Norway 2004 1.7 
			 Poland 2003 3.2 
			 Sweden 2005 1 
			 Switzerland 2004 0.86 
			 United Kingdom 2004-05 0.7

Dental Services: Children

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) fillings and  (b) extractions were carried out on children's teeth in each of the regions in the last year.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The number of courses of treatment (CoTs) delivered, by patient type (including children) during 2007-08, is available in Table F1 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08 report. This table includes CoTs that can attract a patient charge only and therefore excludes those CoTs occurring in charge-exempt courses, such as denture repair. Information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT).
	This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0708
	An activity analysis of a sample of child CoTs processed in 2007-08, by treatment band, is available in Table B4 of the 'Dental Treatment Band Analysis, England and Wales 2007-08' report. This information is available at a national level only for both England and Wales.
	This table includes information on fillings and extractions and presents this as the percentage of CoT that included these items of treatment, the number of items of treatment per 100 CoT and the average number of treatment items per CoT.
	This report, published on 21 August 2008, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentaltba0708

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of exception reporting relating to diabetes there were in each primary care trust area in each of the last three years for which figures are available, ranked by local authority in descending order.

Ann Keen: A copy of the information requested on exception rates for diabetes has been placed in the Library.

Diabetes: Children

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made with implementation of the recommendations of the report, Making every young person with diabetes matter.

Ann Keen: The report Making Every Young Person with Diabetes Matter focuses on the effective commissioning, organisation and provision of services, and recognises the key role played by specialist diabetes teams for children and young people. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library.
	A Children and Young People Diabetes Implementation Support Group has been set up to take forward work on the report's recommendations. The group is chaired by the National Clinical Director for Children, Dr. Sheila Shribman, and includes representation from Diabetes UK, royal colleges, young people with diabetes, parents and representatives from organisations with an interest in this area, including the Healthcare Commission.

Diabetes: Nurses

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the role of diabetes specialist nurses in ensuring that people with diabetes achieve the recommended HbA1c levels;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the role of diabetes specialist nurses in improving standards of care for those admitted to hospital with particular reference to  (a) access to the inpatient diabetes specialist nurses,  (b) reducing medicines error and length of stay and  (c) production of local guidelines regarding continuity of care once patients are discharged into the community.

Ann Keen: The Department has not made a formal assessment of the role of diabetes specialist nurses in helping people with diabetes achieve recommended HbA1c levels or in improving standards of care for those admitted to hospital.
	We are clear, however, that diabetes specialist teams, including diabetes specialist nurses, are a vital part of good diabetes care. The importance of this team working was highlighted in the National Diabetes Support Team's 2007 report "Diabetes in the NHS". In 2008 the National Diabetes Support Team also produced Improving emergency and in-patient care for people with diabetes', which sets out the valuable role that diabetes in-patient specialist nurses can play in improving the experience of people with diabetes in hospital, reducing length of stay and reducing rates of readmission. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.

Diabetes: Screening

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the target for the NHS to offer screening to all people with diabetes has been met.

Ann Keen: The target to offer screening for retinopathy to all people with diabetes was not met in all places. Latest figures for September 2008 show that 93.1 per cent. of people with diabetes were offered screening for diabetic retinopathy that met stringent national clinical standards of quality and safety in the previous twelve months. Great progress has been made and more people with diabetes are being offered screening for retinopathy than ever before.
	We are providing support to the minority of primary care trusts that have not met the target to ensure that all people with diabetes are offered screening to national clinical standards as quickly as possible.

Family Nurse Partnership Programme

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to public funds of the Family Nurse Partnerships programme has been to date;
	(2)  whether evaluation of the Family Nurse Partnerships Programme pilots has been completed; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Government allocated a budget of £7 million across 2006-07 and 2007-08 to support, deliver and test the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP). It announced in October 2007 that it would invest £30 million over 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2011-12 to continue to test and expand the FNP.
	A two-year formative evaluation of implementation in the first 10 FNP test sites is being conducted by the University of London, Birkbeck. A report of findings in the first year was published on the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) research website in July this year, and this suggested that early signs are promising.
	The FNP programme will also be evaluated through a randomised controlled trial, from April 2009. The trial is being led by the South East Wales Trials Unit at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University. It will test the impact of the FNP compared with other services on pregnancy and birth outcomes, on child health and development and on parental life course. It will also assess costs, through an economic evaluation.

Headaches

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of the working population who are absent as a result of headache or migraine on any one day.

Ann Keen: We have made no estimate of the proportion of the working population absent due to headaches or migraine.

Headaches

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve the provision of headache disorder care within the NHS.

Ann Keen: The Department has published the "National Service Framework for Long-term Neurological Conditions" that details service provision for those living with neurological conditions, including migraine and severe headaches. A copy of the framework has been placed in the Library. The strategic health authorities now have the responsibility for commissioning and ensuring the provision of health and social care services to meet the local needs of those in their local population living with headaches.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the independent evaluation of patients' experience, the workforce implications and the costings of a national primary angioplasty service has been completed.

Ann Keen: The independent evaluation of patient experience and workforce implications and the economic evaluation of primary angioplasty was published on 20 October 2008 by the National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme. The costings of the national roll out of primary angioplasty were published as part of the Impact Assessment for the best practice guidance, "Treatment of Heart Attack National Guidance" on the same date.
	Copies of these reports have been placed in the Library and can be found on the following websites:
	http://www.sdo.nihr.ac.uk/sdo1202006.html
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_089455

Heart Diseases: Health Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many cardiac rehabilitation programmes in England have contributed to the national audit of cardiac rehabilitation;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of adequacy of cardiac rehabilitation services in England.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect information about the number of cardiac rehabilitation programmes in England who have contributed to the national audit of cardiac rehabilitation, and the quality of service provided.
	This information is available in the annual national audit of cardiac rehabilitation's (NACR) 2008 annual report which can be found on the NACR's website:
	www.cardiacrehabilitation.org.uk/dataset.htm.
	We do need to focus our attention on improving cardiac rehabilitation services. Chapter Seven of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease, published in 2000, issued appropriate guidance to the national health services regarding the provision of cardiac rehabilitation services. Implementation of this guidance is a matter for the local NHS, working in partnership with stakeholders and the local community. It is for NHS organisations to plan and develop services based on their specific local knowledge and expertise.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the process is by which relatives of patients are informed when a patient has contracted MRSA or another hospital-acquired infection in each hospital in England.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect information on individual trusts' policies for informing patients and their relatives of diagnoses. This is a matter for local determination.
	Test results for health care associated infections provide information as to where the infection was identified only. Infections may be acquired outside of the trust making the diagnosis.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requirements must be met for a company to receive remuneration for the dispensing of incontinence appliances under a dispensing appliance contractors licence; what recent representations he has received about the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: In order to provide and to be paid for appliances supplied as part of NHS services in England, a contractor should apply to the primary care trust (PCT) in which its premises are situated to be included on that PCT's pharmaceutical list. This also applies if an existing NHS contractor changes ownership. The Secretary of State has delegated the NHS Litigation Authority to hear appeals concerning PCTs' decisions.
	Once included on the list, NHS suppliers of appliances must comply with the relevant terms of service. These are set out in Schedule 3 to the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/641), as amended.
	Our consultation 'Pharmacy in England: Building on Strengths, Delivering the Future—Proposals for Legislative Change' included proposals to amend the current legislation concerning entry to the NHS market for suppliers of appliances. That consultation closed on 20 November 2008. We will decide what further steps are appropriate after full consideration of the responses received.

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the proposal to require dispensing appliance contractors to provide a home delivery service will apply in circumstances where the contractors would be providing such a service at a financial loss; what recent representations he has received about this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The last consultation relating to the Part IX review—'Proposed New Arrangements Under Part IX of the Drug Tariff for the Provision of Stoma and Urology Appliances—and Related Services—in Primary Care', which closed in September 2008—sought views on a number of proposed new arrangements, including a proposal regarding payment by way of fees for the home delivery of certain items if patients so required and the provision, where necessary, of a reasonable supply of complimentary wipes and disposal bags with certain items.
	In responding to the consultation, views were expressed by some dispensing contractors as to the affordability of these proposals. These responses will be taken into account.

Locums

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of hours worked by locums in the NHS in each of the last five years at  (a) the grade of the locum,  (b) a grade below that of the locum and  (c) a grade above that of the locum.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Locums

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health at what rate a locum covering a job below his or her grade is paid.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Maternity Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made by the Neonatal Taskforce; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by NHS Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, has met on five occasions. Four working groups have been established to take forward the key areas of data for commissioning, workforce, transfers and surgery, and are currently developing the quality standards and toolkits required for a comprehensive neonatal service.
	Progress has been made within the Northern and Essex regions in developing a formal managed clinical network for neonatology. Networks are continuing to develop their specialist neonatal transfer services with the aim to ensure 24-hour seven-day-a-week access. Further progress is required and is being worked towards.

MRSA: Screening

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he expects MRSA screening for all elective patients to be in place by March 2009.

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of progress made towards meeting his Department's target for all elective admissions to hospitals to be screened for MRSA by March 2009; and what steps he takes to monitor such progress.

Ann Keen: The Department has issued guidance covering methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screening and expects all trusts to be screening relevant elective patients from April 2009 when our national commitment commences.
	The Department has a temporary national screening data collection system providing information on screening activity. This system is monitored to assess progress.
	The national health service is expected to have appropriate local assurances in place from April 2009 to ensure screening is taking place.

Neurofibromatosis

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 2100-1W, on neurofibromatosis, what treatments for neurofibromatosis are available on the National Health Service.

Ann Keen: There is currently no cure for neurofibromatosis, however the national health service is able to provide treatments for some of the complications of this distressing condition. Neurofibromas in awkward or unsightly positions can sometimes be removed surgically, and pain relief is available.
	The full range of NHS health and social care is available for those with specific complications which may include learning difficulties, behavioural problems, high blood pressure, epilepsy and hearing and speech problems.

NHS: Occupational Health

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) commencement and  (b) completion dates are for the three healthy organisations pilots on health and well-being of NHS staff.

Ann Keen: The 'Creating a Healthier NHS' pilot scheme was launched in July 2008. The scheme will run for two years completing in June 2010.

NHS: Public Participation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the Local Involvement Networks which are operational.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally.

NHS: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS organisations  (a) collect and  (b) collate data on serious untoward incidents in the NHS.

Ann Keen: Serious Untoward Incidents data are collected and collated by trusts, strategic health authorities and the National Patient Safety Agency.

Nurses: Manpower

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent nurses were employed within the NHS in each year since 1996.

Ann Keen: The number of full-time equivalent nurses (including practice nurses) from 1996 are given in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1996 257,891 
			 1997 256,093 
			 1998 257,597 
			 1999 261,340 
			 2000 266,987 
			 2001 277,334 
			 2002 291,285 
			 2003 304,892 
			 2004 315,440 
			 2005 321,537 
			 2006 322,062 
			 2007 322,182

Ophthalmic Services: Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of NHS ophthalmic services was in each region in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: Expenditure data relating to 'Problems of Vision', covering both primary and secondary care services, are collected as part of the annual programme budgeting returns to the Department by primary care trusts. Programme budgeting data for 2007-08 are due to be collected from primary care trusts during December 2008 and therefore are not currently available.

Patients: Safety

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient safety incidents of each type, classified as causing  (a) no harm , (b) low harm,  (c) moderate harm,  (d) severe harm and  (e) death, were recorded in each NHS trust in each quarter since the inception of the national reporting and learning system.

Ann Keen: As a consequence of national health service reconfigurations over the past five years, the information requested is not currently available. The regular National Reporting and Learning System Quarterly Data Summaries from the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) provide a breakdown for incidents in England and Wales by degree of harm and incident type, for a range of care settings.
	In addition, from February 2009 the NPSA will be publishing NHS trust level data, including a breakdown by incident type and degree of harm.

Pharmacy

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacies there were in England on 31 March 2008.

Phil Hope: Information on the number of community pharmacies is collected by the Information Centre for Health and Social Care and published in the 'General Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales 1998-99 to 2007-08'. Table 4a, of the bulletin states that in 2007-08 there were 10,291 community pharmacies in contract with the national health service in England.
	Copies of the latest bulletin have been placed in the Library and at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/pharmacies/general-pharmaceutical-services-in-england-and-wales-1998-99-to-2007-08.

Pharmacy

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure of the Public Health Leadership Forum for Pharmacy was in financial year 2007-08.

Phil Hope: The expenditure incurred for the Public Health Leadership Forum for Pharmacy for 2007-08 was £881, which relates to travel expenses and locum costs for some forum members.

Pharmacy: Training

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent progress has his Department made in the development of new qualifications for pharmacy support staff; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his policy is on revision of the national occupational standards in pharmacy; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The project to revise the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for pharmacy and, from these, develop new qualifications for pharmacy support is being taken forward by Skills for Health, the Sector Skills Council for health in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. The project is funded via the United Kingdom Commission for Employment and Skills.
	The project has reviewed the original occupational standards in pharmacy and produced 26 contemporary NOS. In addition, six new NOS have been developed.
	The new qualifications at level 2 and level 3 for pharmacy support staff will reflect the updated NOS and are intended to be consistent with both the new qualification framework in England, Wales and Northern Ireland—the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF)—and the existing framework in Scotland. The new qualifications will be developed by autumn 2009.
	The pharmacy White Paper 'Pharmacy in England: Building on Strengths—Delivering the Future' (Cm 7341) states in paragraph 7.44 that the Government will consider what further training may be required to enable pharmacy technicians to supervise certain aspects of the sale or supply of medicine as envisaged by the Health Act 2006.

Prostate Cancer

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the first prostate cancer training courses resulting from the work of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have been delivered.

Ann Keen: Leeds Teaching Hospitals national health service trust will run the first pilot prostate cancer multidisciplinary team surgical master class by early March 2009.

Radiography: Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made in the project to introduce virtual skills training for student therapeutic radiographers; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: There are 10 universities providing therapeutic radiographer training and the virtual environment for radiotherapy training has been installed in 26 radiotherapy departments based in national health service trusts. A further eight installations are planned during 2009, and six trusts are awaiting suitable accommodation to become available.

Radiotherapy

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Commissioning Group commissions proton therapy for suitable cancers other than eye cancers from overseas suppliers.

Ann Keen: The National Commissioning Group commissions proton beam therapy for all suitable cancers identified on the high priority list produced by the National Radiography Advisory Group in 2007. A clinical reference panel advises on each individual referred case and its suitability for treatment from overseas providers.

Social Services: Registration

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce his decision on the inclusion of other social care workers on the register of the General Social Care Council.

Phil Hope: The Department remains convinced of the important role that the registration of home care workers can play in public protection and raising quality within the sector. We need to do this in a way that does not create unnecessary burdens, is cost effective and is based on best available evidence as to what works. The Department is currently in discussion with the General Social Care Council on how best to achieve this. Further announcements will be made in due course.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of all guidance distributed to local councils and other bodies on procurement for the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: All procurement guidance for local authorities for Building Schools for the Future is available on the Partnerships for Schools website:
	www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/library.jsp.
	These documents are updated regularly and the website is the recommended best source. Officials do not provide copies to the Library to ensure no out-of-date material is available.

Children: Day Care

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in each local education authority provide wraparound school care.

Beverley Hughes: We do not collect information centrally on the number of schools providing wraparound care. We do, however, have information on the number of schools providing access to the full core offer of extended services in England. This includes access to a varied menu of activities, combined with child care in primary schools, from 8 am to 6 pm and during school holidays where there is demand. The list providing details of the number of schools in each local authority that are providing access to the core offer of extended services has been placed in both libraries. This shows that there are 14,750 extended schools which represents around 67 per cent. of all maintained schools.
	There are many other schools which are already providing parts of the core offer, including child care and a varied menu of activities, and developing access to other services which are not yet included in these figures.
	We want all schools to offer access to extended services by 2010.

Classroom Assistants: Conditions of Employment

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) pay,  (b) conditions and  (c) pensions and other benefits are stipulated in legislation for classroom assistants; and what such categories will be stipulated in statute if the proposals announced in the Queen's Speech were enacted.

Jim Knight: There is currently no national pay structure stipulated within legislation to cover support staff (including classroom assistants) who are employed to work in local authority maintained schools. Decisions on pay and conditions and other benefits are taken at local level. However, support staff employed in local authority maintained schools have access to membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
	The forthcoming Children, Skills and Learning Bill will include a provision to establish the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). The remit of the SSSNB, also to be set out within the Bill, will be to negotiate and reach agreement on matters that will be referred to the Secretary of State relating to  (a) the remuneration of school support staff and  (b) the conditions of employment relating to the duties or working time of school support staff.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much each of his Department's non-departmental public bodies spent on  (a) entertainment,  (b) hospitality and  (c) advertising in 2007-08.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not centrally hold information on how much each of its non-departmental public bodies spends on entertainment, hospitality and advertising. This information can be gathered from each individual body only at disproportionate cost.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of people who are no longer in education or training as a result of the delay in making education maintenance allowance payments.

Jim Knight: We have no evidence that delay in making Education Maintenance Allowance payments has resulted in a drop in the overall numbers of people participating in education or training.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1836W, on the education maintenance allowance, how many students had  (a) received a notice of entitlement for the education maintenance allowance,  (b) successfully enrolled and  (c) received at least one payment by (i) November 2006 and (ii) November 2007.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The helpline, assessment and payment function for EMA transferred to Capita from 28 November 2008. Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what sanctions he plans to impose on Liberata for failing to make education maintenance allowance payments on time; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people enrolled on an entry to employment programme have had education maintenance allowance payments delayed because of technical problems; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The helpline, assessment and payment function for EMA transferred to Capita from 28 November 2008. Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Yeovil with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the interim learning providers' portal used in the administration of the Education Maintenance Allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The helpline, assessment and payment function for EMA transferred to Capita from 28 November 2008. Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Educational Institutions: Regulation

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of the number of unregulated and unregistered educational institutions in England used by local education authorities.

Jim Knight: This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of local authorities to commission education provision from public and private sector providers and we understand that the nature of this provision varies from full-time provision to a few hours of supplementary services per week.

Gifted Children: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department plans to spend on programmes for gifted and talented young people in each financial year from 2008-09 to 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer my hon. Member to the reply given to him on 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 202W.

International Baccalaureate

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which maintained schools are offering  (a) the international baccalaureate and  (b) the pre-U examination in 2008-09.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not hold this information.
	Maintained schools are free to offer whatever qualifications they consider appropriate to their students' learning, provided these qualifications are approved under Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000.
	Details of all schools and colleges offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) can be found on the IB website at:
	www.ibo.org

Primary Education: Capital Investment

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether local authorities will be required under the primary capital programme to reduce primary pupil places across the whole authority as a condition of spending the funding awarded under the programme.

Jim Knight: There is no such condition. Prior to agreeing funding for the Primary Capital Programme, we asked each local authority to develop Primary Strategies for Change in consultation with local stakeholders setting out how the programme will support national policies and local priorities. We release funding to each authority once we are satisfied with its Strategy for Change. We issued guidance on the content of strategies for change on 6 December last year.
	Among other things, the guidance made clear our expectation that local authorities should review overall provision taking into account demographic change and parental preference. However, responsibility for balancing the demand and supply of places is a matter for local determination.

Primary Education: Stoke-on-Trent

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what conditions apply to the award of £10.7 million to Stoke-on-Trent under the primary capital programme.

Jim Knight: To access the funding earmarked for the delivery of the Primary Capital Programme, Stoke-on-Trent was asked to develop a Primary Strategy for Change, setting out how the programme will support national and local priorities. Following assessment against the guidance issued on 6 December the authority has been notified that its strategy has been approved with modification. This means that it was judged to be generally sound but further information/reassurance is required on how the programme will transform school standards. This includes;
	The approach on suitability and accessibility issues in schools
	The plans for schools not reaching floor targets
	The relationship between the design of schools and
	The rote of technology in raising standards
	The need for a proactive approach in driving through change in governance arrangements where there is very poor performance.
	The Department has committed to working with Stoke-on-Trent to resolve these issues quickly, prior to resubmission by the end of March 2009.

Pupils: Diabetes

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance has been issued by his Department to  (a) schools and  (b) Ofsted on training of school staff relating to children with diabetes; and if he will place copies of such guidance in the Library.

Jim Knight: This Department issued, in 2005, guidance entitled 'Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings'. This guidance was published jointly with the Department of Health, and specifically addresses what schools can do to help children with diabetes and other medical conditions.
	The guidance contains information on putting arrangements in place for dealing with emergency situations, including when to call an ambulance. However, it is for schools and local authorities to set their own policy, including the training needs of staff, taking into account local needs and resources. They should work with local health services to support pupils with medical conditions, including diabetes.
	This Department has not issued guidance on this matter to Ofsted.

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many surplus places there were in  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools in each local authority area in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The requested information has been placed in the House Library.

Schools: Buildings

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children are currently being taught in temporary facilities.

Jim Knight: Data on school temporary buildings were supplied to the Department by local education authorities in 2001, 2003 and 2005. However, the data did not show numbers of pupils taught in those buildings. Furthermore, checks indicated that the completeness and quality of the data was not good enough for accurate analysis.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.7 billion in 2008-09 and will rise further to £8.0 billion by 2010-11. Progress is being made year-by-year in improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of decayed temporary accommodation, on which we have set a high priority. Given the high levels of funding, authorities have the opportunity to replace temporary buildings where they are considered to be unsuitable.

Schools: National Challenge

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools have been removed from the National Challenge as a consequence of their 2008 GCSE results.

Jim Knight: Final validated GCSE results for 2008 are not yet available. However, support under the National Challenge is flexible and is not confined to schools currently with fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils gaining five A*-C including English and Mathematics. The programme also supports schools deemed to be at risk of falling below this threshold.
	Individual local authorities will shortly publish their plans for all schools who are being supported by National Challenge so that local parents can see details of the proposed support.

Schools: Vetting

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many notifications his Department and its predecessor sent to each of the schools inspectorates under the automatic transfer arrangements in relation to  (a) independent and  (b) maintained schools in each year since April 2005; and how many notifications his Department and its predecessor received from independent and grant maintained schools in each such year.

Jim Knight: To date, the Department has referred 84 notifications to the Schools Inspectorates since April 2005 relating to individuals who resigned or were dismissed from independent schools because they were considered unsuitable to work with children. Details are given in the following tables. In the case of maintained schools, Ofsted can approach the local authority concerned in respect of notifications from its schools.
	
		
			  Referrals to inspectorates 
			  Inspectorate  2005  2006  2007  2008  Total 
			 ISI 5 27 17 15 64 
			 Ofsted 2 4 7 7 20 
			 CSC1(1) 2 4 1 0 7 
			 (1) The seven referrals made to the former Commission for Social Care Inspection (now Ofsted) were also referred to the relevant education inspectorate and are thus included in the totals for ISI and Ofsted. 
		
	
	Under the new Vetting and Barring Scheme a supervisory authority such as Ofsted will be required to inform the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if it has information that a person poses a risk of harm. In return, ISA must inform them when it bars someone who is supervised or registered by them.
	Where employers (including independent schools) in the education sector have ceased to use the services of a person because they consider that person is unsuitable to work with children, or they would have ceased to use the person's services where the person has left their employment, they are required to refer information to the Department. In addition, the Police refer to the Department cautions and convictions for those who have been working in educational establishments in accordance with Home Office Circular 6/2006 (The Notifiable Occupations Scheme). Identifying how many referrals and letters of notification were received from (i) state maintained and (ii) independent schools would require detailed checks to be made of individual case records and this would incur disproportionate cost.

Specialised Diplomas

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a list of  (a) schools and  (b) school consortia offering the 14-19 diplomas, listing (i) which diplomas are being offered and (ii) how many pupils are entered for them in each case.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the diploma lines being offered in 2008 by consortia. We do not have the other information requested.
	
		
			Lines delivered n 2008 
			  LA name  Consortium name  CBE  C and M  ENG  IT  SHD 
			 Barnsley LA Barnsley Diploma Consortia Yes — — — Yes 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne LA Newcastle City Consortium Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Waltham Forest LA London Borough of Waltham Forest — Yes — — — 
			 Lincolnshire LA Lincolnshire Wolds — Yes Yes Yes — 
			 Halton LA Halton 14-19 Strategic Partnership Yes — — — — 
			 East Sussex LA Hastings and Rother Local Area Partnership Board — — — Yes — 
			 Sheffield LA Sheffield 14-19 Partnership Yes Yes Yes Yes — 
			 Norfolk LA Norwich City (OpenOpportunity) Yes Yes — — — 
			 Oxfordshire LA West Oxfordshire Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Blackburn with Darwen LA Blackburn with Darwen 14-19 Partnership — — Yes — — 
			 Kirklees LA Kirklees Collegiates — Yes — — Yes 
			 City of Plymouth LA City of Plymouth 14-19 Diploma Partnership Yes — Yes — Yes 
			 Nottinghamshire LA Bassetlaw 14-19 Consortium Yes — — — — 
			 Oxfordshire LA East Oxon 14-19 Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Nottinghamshire LA Newark and Sherwood ASG — Yes — — — 
			 North Tyneside LA North Tyneside 14-19 Learning Partnership Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Dorset LA Central Dorset Partnership Yes — — — — 
			 Bury LA Bury Learning Partnership — — Yes — — 
			 Staffordshire LA Chase Collegiate — — — Yes — 
			 Staffordshire LA East Staffs 14-19 Collegiate — — Yes Yes — 
			 City of Derby LA Derby City—North West — — Yes  — 
			 Tower Hamlets LA The Hub — — — Yes — 
			 Hertfordshire LA Dacorum Strategic Area Partnership Group — Yes — Yes — 
			 Manchester LA Manchester Yes Yes — Yes — 
			 Cambridgeshire LA Cambridge 14-19 Area Partnership — Yes — — — 
			 Knowsley LA Knowsley 14-19 Partnership — Yes Yes Yes — 
			 Trafford LA Trafford 14-19 Consortium Yes — Yes — Yes 
			 Kent LA Thanet 14 -19 Consortium — — — — Yes 
			 North Somerset LA North Somerset Consortium — Yes — Yes — 
			 Hartlepool LA Hartlepool 14-19 Partnership — — Yes — — 
			 Liverpool LA Liverpool Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Barking and Dagenham LA Barking and Dagenham — Yes Yes  Yes 
			 Rochdale LA Rochdale Consortium — — — Yes Yes 
			 Cheshire LA East Cheshire 14-19 Diploma Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Brighton and Hove LA Brighton and Howe 14-19 Partnership Board — — — — Yes 
			 Norfolk LA Extended Rural Norfolk Federation Yes — — — — 
			 Croydon LA Croydon Consortium Yes — — — — 
			 Hounslow LA Hounslow 14-19 Partnership — Yes — —  
			 Leeds LA Leeds Diplomas Yes — — —  
			 Bradford LA Bradford Confederations — Yes — — — 
			 Sunderland LA Sunderland 14-19 Partnership Yes Yes Yes — — 
			 Birmingham LA South Network — Yes — — — 
			 City of Nottingham LA Nottingham City Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Haringey LA The Haringey 14-19 Partnership Yes — — — — 
			 Lancashire LA Burnley and Pendle — Yes — — — 
			 Milton Keynes LA Milton Keynes Yes — — — — 
			 Wiltshire LA West Wilts Federation — Yes — — — 
			 Salford LA Salford — Yes — — — 
			 Lewisham LA Lewisham 14-19 Partnership — — — Yes — 
			 Islington LA Islington 14-19 Partnership — Yes — — Yes 
			 St. Helens LA St. Helens Partnership — — Yes — — 
			 Worcestershire LA ContinU Yes — — — — 
			 Torbay LA Torbay 14-19 Learning Partnership — Yes — — — 
			 Cheshire LA Crewe and Nantwich — — Yes  Yes 
			 Hackney LA Hackney Diploma 20O9 Consortium Yes Yes — — Yes 
			 Surrey LA Elmbridge 14-19 Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Nottinghamshire LA Mansfield Learning Partnership — — Yes Yes — 
			 Lincolnshire LA Lincolnshire South Holland — — Yes Yes — 
			 Hertfordshire LA North Hertfordshire Strategic Area Partnership Group Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Coventry LA Coventry North West Federation — — Yes — — 
			 Ealing LA West London Consortium Yes Yes — — — 
			 Wandsworth LA 14-19 Partnership — — — — Yes 
			 Medway LA Medway — Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Kent LA Dover Deal and Sandwich Collegiate — — — — Yes 
			 Cambridgeshire LA HSEP — Yes — — — 
			 Birmingham LA Birmingham South West Collegiate: Lordswood Girls' — — Yes — — 
			 Worcestershire LA Forward Consortium — Yes Yes Yes — 
			 Kingston upon Hull LA Hull 14-19 Partnership — — — Yes — 
			 Calderdale LA Campus Calderdale — Yes — — Yes 
			 Northamptonshire LA East Northamptonshire Partnership — Yes Yes — Yes 
			 Reading Reading and Central Berkshire Consortium Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Lancashire LA Hyndburn, Rossendale and Ribble Valley — Yes — — — 
			 Oldham LA OLLP—Business Yes Yes — — — 
			 Surrey LA Surrey Heath — — — Yes Yes 
			 Hampshire LA Basingstoke 14-19 Consortium Yes — — — — 
			 West Sussex LA Area B — — Yes Yes — 
			 Coventry LA Coventry North East Federation — — Yes — — 
			 Lambeth LA LCm the Lambeth Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 City of York LA City of York Partnership — — Yes — Yes 
			 Somerset LA Sedgemoor — Yes — — — 
			 Sefton LA North Sefton — — — — Yes 
			 Swindon LA Swindon 14-19 Partnership Yes Yes Yes — — 
			 Hampshire LA Rushmoor and Hart — — — Yes — 
			 Kent LA Gravesham 14-19 Consortium Yes — — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire LA Ashfield District ASG Yes — — Yes — 
			 Surrey LA Guildford 14-19 Partnerships — Yes — — — 
			 Hillingdon LA The Hillingdon Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Wolverhampton LA Wolverhampton Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 East Sussex LA Eastbourne and Hailsham Federation Yes  Yes — — 
			 Surrey LA Spelthorne — Yes Yes — — 
			 Dorset LA North Dorset — — — Yes — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham LA Hammersmith and Fulham — — — Yes — 
			 Lincolnshire LA Sleaford — — — — Yes 
			 South Gloucestershire LA Kingswood Partnership Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Oxfordshire LA North Oxfordshire 14-19 Partnership — Yes — — — 
			 Rotherham LA Rotherham 14-19 Partnership Yes — — — — 
			 Lincolnshire LA Grantham Partnership — Yes Yes Yes — 
			 Lincolnshire LA Lincolnshire East Partnership — — Yes — — 
			 Dorset LA Chesil Education Partnership — Yes — — — 
			 Middlesbrough LA Middlesbrough Learning Partnership Yes — Yes — — 
			 Warrington LA Warrington 14-19 Partnership — — — — Yes 
			 Dudley LA The Halesowen Education Trust — Yes — — Yes 
			 Lancashire LA Lancaster and Morecambe — Yes — —  
			 Newham LA 14-19 Newham Partnership Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Shropshire LA North West Shropshire — — — Yes — 
			 Stoke on Trent LA Stoke-on-Trent 14-19 Collegiate Yes — Yes Yes Yes 
			 Cumbria LA Furness 14-19 Partnership Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Hampshire LA Eastleigh Consortium Yes — Yes — — 
			 Southwark LA Southwark Guarantee — Yes Yes — — 
			 Northamptonshire LA Northampton Town — — — — Yes 
			 Birmingham LA Birmingham North Area Network Yes — Yes — — 
			 East Sussex LA Western Coastal Local Area Partnership Board Yes — — — — 
			 Bolton LA Bolton LA Consortia Yes — Yes — Yes 
			 West Sussex LA West Sussex Area A Yes — — — — 
			 Suffolk LA North Suffolk Partnership — — Yes — — 
			 Surrey LA Woking Federation Yes — — — — 
			 Harrow LA Harrow Collegiate — Yes — — — 
			 Buckinghamshire LA Wycombe Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Luton LA Campus Luton Partnership — — — Yes — 
			 North East Lincolnshire LA 14-19 Learning Partnership — — Yes — — 
			 East Sussex LA Lewes Local Area Partnership Board Yes — — — — 
			 Leicestershire LA North West Leicestershire — — Yes — — 
			 East Sussex LA Lewes Rural Local Area Partnership Board — Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Wakefield LA Wakefield Hair and Beauty Group Yes — — — — 
			 Gateshead LA Gateshead 14-19 Partnership — — Yes — Yes 
			 Leicestershire LA Melton and Belvoir — Yes Yes — — 
			 Tameside LA Tameside Diploma Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Cheshire LA Vale Royal Diploma Consortium — Yes — — — 
			 Hertfordshire LA S.E. Herts. Strategic Area Partnership Group — — Yes Yes Yes 
			 Staffordshire LA Tamworth Partnership Yes — — — Yes 
			 North Yorkshire LA Ryedale Area Learning Partnership — Yes — — — 
			 Oxfordshire LA Ridgeway — — Yes — — 
			 Solihull LA Solihull Consortium — — — Yes — 
			 Gloucestershire LA Cheltenham Partnership — — — Yes — 
			 Lancashire LA Chorley and South Ribble — — Yes — — 
			 Derbyshire LA Ripley and Heanor Learning Community — — — Yes — 
			 Lincolnshire LA Boston — — Yes — — 
			 Birmingham LA Central Network — Yes — — — 
			 Kent LA Dartford Wilmington Yes — — — — 
			 Northamptonshire LA Kettering Learning Partnership — Yes — — — 
			 Rutland LA Rutland 14-19: Partnership — Yes — — — 
			 Southend-on-Sea LA Southend — Yes — — — 
			 Bromley LA The Bromley 14-19 Collaborative — Yes Yes Yes — 
			 Cornwall LA Cornwall Collegiate — Yes — — — 
			 Durham LA Derwentside Consortium — — Yes — — 
			 Walsall LA Walsall Consortium — Yes — — —

Specialised Diplomas

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1011-12W, on specialised diplomas, how many people who embarked on a diploma course in each local authority embarked on a  (a) foundation,  (b) higher and  (c) advanced level.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of diploma learners by level in each local authority involved in delivery from 2008.
	
		
			  Local authority  Level learners  Level 2 learners  Level 3 learners 
			 Barking and Dagenham 22 40 15 
			 Barnsley 5 51 23 
			 Birmingham 48 148 22 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 0 6 0 
			 Bolton 43 56 14 
			 Bradford 0 51 26 
			 Brighton and Hove 10 23 6 
			 Bromley 64 110 24 
			 Buckinghamshire 8 37 0 
			 Bury 0 31 15 
			 Calderdale 34 74 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 51 16 
			 Cheshire 30 125 14 
			 Cornwall 9 130 26 
			 Coventry 9 96 0 
			 Croydon 8 20 0 
			 Cumbria 9 78 31 
			 Derby 10 17 0 
			 Derbyshire 7 86 7 
			 Dorset 21 36 8 
			 Dudley 0 85 54 
			 Durham 0 10 0 
			 Ealing 24 20 18 
			 East Sussex 102 199 41 
			 Gateshead 0 39 10 
			 Gloucestershire 0 20 0 
			 Hackney 23 109 9 
			 Halton 12 13 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 15 32 19 
			 Hampshire 16 113 27 
			 Haringey 10 16 0 
			 Harrow 0 6 0 
			 Hartlepool 11 19 0 
			 Hertfordshire 122 352 107 
			 Hillingdon 0 0 16 
			 Hounslow 2 49 0 
			 Hull (Kingston Upon} 5 62 16 
			 Islington 0 71 18 
			 Kent 16 109 30 
			 Kirklees 16 55 0 
			 Knowsley 24 144 22 
			 Lambeth (joint Southwark) 42 154 11 
			 Lancashire 18 82 0 
			 Leeds 21 71 30 
			 Leicestershire 33 78 8 
			 Lewisham 0 29 0 
			 Lincolnshire 43 374 54 
			 Liverpool 19 114 112 
			 Luton 0 15 8 
			 Manchester 87 78 7 
			 Medway 39 176 104 
			 Middlesbrough 27 67 31 
			 Milton Keynes 35 10 0 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 115 97 70 
			 Newham 181 268 120 
			 Norfolk 91 102 38 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0 18 0 
			 North Somerset 0 121 11 
			 North Tyneside 19 65 28 
			 North Yorkshire 0 20 0 
			 Northamptonshire 3 114 0 
			 Nottingham City 94 94 53 
			 Nottinghamshire 25 101 5 
			 Oldham 26 22 27 
			 Oxfordshire 82 61 0 
			 Plymouth City 15 109 36 
			 Reading 84 117 113 
			 Rochdale 0 54 38 
			 Rotherham 6 54 0 
			 Rutland 0 49 0 
			 Salford 24 116 20 
			 Sefton 0 11 11 
			 Sheffield 7 144 22 
			 Shropshire 0 18 0 
			 Solihull 0 48 14 
			 Somerset 21 55 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 54 365 6 
			 Southend-on-Sea 4 32 0 
			 Southwark 12 16 21 
			 St. Helens 0 17 0 
			 Staffordshire 0 109 0 
			 Stoke on Trent 52 118 51 
			 Suffolk 16 15 9 
			 Sunderland 0 145 0 
			 Surrey 33 112 16 
			 Swindon 39 88 71 
			 Tameside 9 18 16 
			 Torbay 9 88 18 
			 Tower Hamlets 40 14 12 
			 Trafford 29 112 0 
			 Wakefield 0 5 0 
			 Walsall 0 52 0 
			 Waltham Forest 0 35 0 
			 Wandsworth 0 17 0 
			 Warrington 0 27 27 
			 West Sussex 12 25 9 
			 Wiltshire 16 67 0 
			 Wolverhampton 71 160 70 
			 Worcestershire 43 72 11 
			 York City 24 128 53

Specialised Diplomas: Disadvantaged

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female pupils eligible for free school meals are studying for the 14-19 diplomas.

Jim Knight: In summer 2009 we will have information about the proportions of pupils entered for Diplomas, broken down by gender and free school meals for those pupils sitting examinations in 2009.

Specialised Diplomas: Disadvantaged

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female pupils studying for the 14-19 diplomas are eligible for free school meals.

Jim Knight: In summer 2009 we will have information about the proportions of pupils entered for Diplomas, broken down by gender and free school meals for those pupils sitting examinations in 2009.

Teachers: Absenteeism

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the estimated cost to local authorities was of teachers'  (a) absence and  (b) sick leave in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The number of teaching days taken as sickness absence by full and part-time teachers in England in the calendar years 2000 to 2007 can be found in Table 13 of the School Workforce Statistical First Releases, January 2008 (Revised) at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000813/index.shtml

Teachers: Male

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of  (a) teachers and  (b) classroom assistants in (i) primary, (ii) maintained secondary, (iii) pupil referral units and (iv) special schools are male.

Jim Knight: Figures for the number of full-time regular qualified teachers in local authority maintained schools by phase, grade and gender, January 1997 to 2006 are published in table D2 of the School Workforce Statistical First Release, January 2007 (Revised) at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/sQ00743/Addition_D_DOU.xls
	March 2007 figures will be available on the 11 December.
	This table provides pupil referral units and special schools together and these can not be provided separately.
	Information on the gender of teaching assistants is not collected centrally.

Teachers: Part-time Employment

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what consideration his Department gives when issuing guidance to the time teachers will be required to spend familiarising themselves with new information.

Jim Knight: To be familiar with current guidance, and to take account of changes to it, is a routine part of any job. In this regard teaching is no different to any profession.
	In developing guidance, the Department always prioritises the impact on front line staff.
	We aim to ensure guidance is:
	(a) as straightforward as possible;
	(b) has been consulted on and/or discussed with our Social Partners, and/or the Implementation Review Unit where appropriate;
	so as to minimise any burden on the work force and maximise the effectiveness of the guidance.

Teachers: Retirement

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teachers in the maintained sector will reach retirement age in each of the next five years.

Jim Knight: Under the Teachers' Pensions Scheme (TPS) regulations there is no fixed retirement age. There is a normal pension age of 60, or 65 for new entrants from 1 January 2007, but teachers may retire with employer agreement from age 50 under the premature retirement arrangements, 55 under the actuarially reduced pension arrangements and from age 60 or 65 under normal age retirement. Teachers can continue to contribute to the TPS until age 75.
	The following table provides an estimate of the number of full-time qualified regular teachers in service in England in 2007, broken down by age from 55, (i.e. five years before the normal pension age of 60). This is the latest information available.
	
		
			  Full-time regular qualified teachers broken down by age. Coverage: England—2007, provisional 
			  Age  Number 
			 Under 55 321,200 
			 56 11,500 
			 57 10,300 
			 58 9,000 
			 59 7,000 
			 60 5,600 
			 61 2,800 
			 62 1,100 
			 63 700 
			 64 400 
			 65 300 
			 65 and over 200 
			 Total 370,100 
			  Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: Annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618g, and Database of Teacher Records.

Written Questions

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will estimate the cost to his predecessor department of preparing the answer of 17 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 549-52W, on GCSE.

Jim Knight: Our records do not state the time spent preparing the answer of 17 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 549-52W.
	However, a good estimate would be six and a half hours (approximately £180).

Young People: Obesity

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department issues to schools on reducing obesity levels among persons aged under 16 years; what recent representations he has received on the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives strategy sets out what the Government will do to reduce obesity but also calls on all parts of society to act. Schools have a vital part to play in helping children achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The Department has made available guidance and resources to help schools provide a healthy environment by providing nutritious school lunches, improving participation in high quality PE and sport opportunities, helping children learn about health through personal, social, health and economic education and practical activities such as cooking. Guidance and support is also provided to the 90 per cent. of schools that are currently participating in the national healthy schools programme, which promotes a whole-school approach to health, for example Guidance for Schools on Healthy Eating, and Physical Activity Guidance. Guidance from this Department and the Department of Health is issued to schools on how they can support the National Child Measurement Programme, which collects essential height and weight data on primary school pupils in Reception and Year 6.
	DCSF and DH Secretaries of State recently met with a diverse coalition of people including parents, nongovernmental organisations, supermarkets and representatives of the food industry who have agreed to join the Change4Life movement. Change4Life will create an unprecedented coalition for better health which will help families to eat well, move more and live longer.

Young People: Refuges

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will fund an increase in emergency refuge accommodation for young people in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The provision of emergency accommodation for young people who need it is the responsibility of local authorities. Support services for runaways should be determined and run through local children's trusts and other stakeholders, according to focal service needs. Where local partners agree that a refuge is a useful and appropriate form of emergency accommodation provision in their area, it is our expectation that this is funded by the relevant local authorities.
	In order to support local authority children's services in their provision of emergency accommodation my Department is funding research which will identify successful and cost effective commissioning models using services provided by the voluntary sector, and by helping commissioners at every level understand more about young people's perceptions of different models of emergency accommodation.
	In 2008-09, my Department will also be providing £114,500 to the St. Christopher's Fellowship, which runs the London Refuge, in the form of a development grant to help them find more sustainable forms of funding.

JUSTICE

Freedom of Information

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's policy on freedom of information.

Michael Wills: The Government believe the Freedom of Information Act has been effective legislation in improving the scrutiny and accountability of government. They keep their implementation under constant review to ensure its effectiveness.

Freedom of Information

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he next plans to review the guidance issued by his Department to public authorities on their duties under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice published updated guidance on its website in May 2008 to assist public authorities in handling Freedom of Information requests. This guidance will continue to be reviewed on a regular basis.

Community Sentences

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to promote the more effective use of community sentences by judges and magistrates.

David Hanson: The Government want community sentences to be tough, effective and visible. That is why we announced on 1 December 2008 that that all offenders performing unpaid work as part of a community order must wear high visibility jackets with the distinctive logo 'community payback'.
	We are also promoting the intensive delivery of community sentences which can include punishments such as curfew and Community Payback as well as positive measures like drug treatment.

Public Office: Misconduct

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the common law offence of misconduct in a public office.

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the common law offence of misconduct in a public office.

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the common law offence of misconduct in a public office.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge), New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne), Wellingborough (Mr. Bone) and the right hon. Member for Bracknell (Mr. Mackay) during Justice oral questions.

Child Protection Court Fees

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the increase in child protection court fees paid by local authorities.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him during Justice Topical questions earlier today.

Custody Licence Scheme

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects the custody licence scheme to end.

David Hanson: The end of custody licence scheme was introduced as a temporary measure. We are working extremely hard to expand capacity in prisons. The moment I judge it is safe and operationally sustainable to so do, we will end ECL.

Family Courts

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to increase transparency and accountability in the family courts.

Bridget Prentice: This is an important area of policy about which people have strong views, and one that we are examining with care and consideration. That is why we have consulted twice on how we could improve transparency in family courts. The response paper to the last consultation, including further details of the pilot to provide written judgments when a final order is made in family cases, will be published soon and details of it will be announced to Parliament.

Parliamentary Privilege

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals further to define in statute the law relating to parliamentary privilege.

Jack Straw: I have no plans to do so.

Prisoners

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with HM Prison Service on increasing the amount of purposeful activity for prisoners.

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with HM Prison Service on increasing the amount of purposeful activity for prisoners.

David Hanson: The Government are committed to increasing the amount and quality of purposeful activity in prisons, by:
	The expansion and further development of links with private sector employers to increase the range of constructive work and training available to prisoners;
	The delivery of a comprehensive range of interventions designed to address offending behaviour;
	An improvement in the quality of prison education provision.

Prison Places

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had on the Government's policy on provision of prison places.

David Hanson: I keep the progress of the prison capacity building programme under review. I have had discussions with interested parties in developing specific prison capacity projects and with officials on the progress of the capacity building programme.

Sentencing

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to give greater publicity to deterrent sentences handed down by the courts.

Maria Eagle: My right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr. Straw) has announced our intention to publish the final outcome of criminal court hearings on the internet. This will be a positive measure to enable local communities to know what is happening in their courts. Of course sentencing in individual cases, and the extent to which that is deterrent, is a matter for the court.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East, of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 252-53W, on departmental air travel, if he will place in the Library the figures for 2007-08.

Kevan Jones: I have been asked to reply.
	The MOD Government Carbon Offsetting Fund air travel figures have been placed in the Library of the House.

Prisoners

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  for what offences women were being detained in prison on 1 April in each year since 1997; and how many were being detained for each category of offence in each such year;
	(2)  what offences men were being detained in prison on 1 April in each year since 1997; and how many men were being detained for each such category of offence in each such year.

David Hanson: The table shows the number of males and females detained in all prison establishments in England and Wales(1) by offence group as at the end of June in each year since 1997.
	The figures for 1997-2007 can be found in table 7.2 of the recently published Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2007, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library and at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	The figures for 2008 can be found in table 2 of the Population in Custody monthly brief for June 2008 which can be found at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  England and Wales 30 June 
			  Number of persons 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005( 1)  2006( 1)  2007( 1)  2008( 1) 
			  Male 
			 Remand 11,518 12,168 11,837 10,764 10,288 12,083 12,001 11,544 11,863 12,165 11,953 12,566 
			  
			 Violence against the person 2,114 2,215 2,126 2,012 2,035 2,411 2,403 2,579 2,753 2,981 2,970 3,280 
			 Sexual offences 625 754 695 581 489 587 556 616 762 886 775 911 
			 Robbery 1,158 951 1,126 982 867 1,304 1,157 1,130 1,049 1,248 1,296 1,331 
			 Burglary 2,382 2,202 2,366 1,882 1,634 1,914 1,850 1,451 1,437 1,342 1,374 1,455 
			 Theft and handling 1,576 1,849 1,590 1,640 1,500 1,687 1,580 1,235 1,187 1,093 950 930 
			 Fraud and forgery 202 177 185 146 167 191 207 267 463 415 453 398 
			 Drug offences 1,296 1,617 1,564 1,430 1,320 1,360 1,374 1,310 1,627 1,407 1,647 1,708 
			 Motoring offences 329 294 298 280 353 386 409 308 246 224 140 127 
			 Other offences 1,321 1,586 1,372 1,362 1,187 1,397 1,463 1,604 1,687 1,868 1,667 1,765 
			 Offence not recorded 515 523 515 448 736 846 1,002 1,044 652 703 681 661 
			  
			 Immediate custodial sentence 46,611 49,793 48,862 50,434 51,272 53,936 55,919 57,475 58,703 59,898 62,188 64,600 
			  
			 Violence against the person 10,033 10,524 10,429 10,807 11,301 11,674 12,480 13,371 14,541 15,537 16,929 18,204 
			 Sexual offences 4,069 4,779 4,929 5,070 5,082 5,270 5,514 5,746 6,146 6,561 7,287 7,569 
			 Robbery 6,277 6,449 6,174 6,158 6,534 7,208 7,879 8,056 8,035 8,100 8,437 8,437 
			 Burglary 7,976 8,538 8,622 8,824 8,416 8,917 8,576 8,396 7,844 7,563 7,723 7,733 
			 Theft and handling 3,929 4,097 4,021 4,537 4,347 4,278 4,157 3,988 3,716 3,691 3,332 3,373 
			 Fraud and forgery 1,104 1,080 993 885 941 921 907 1,021 1,281 1,456 1,512 1,725 
			 Drug offences 6,483 7,099 7,294 7,526 8,010 8,749 8,988 9,252 9,427 9,484 9,569 9,992 
			 Motoring offences 1,887 1,898 1,913 2,291 2,417 2,223 2,630 2,364 2,124 1,887 1,453 1,356 
			 Other offences 3,159 3,310 3,265 3,538 3,386 3,686 3,934 4,522 4,954 5,242 5,598 6,068 
			 Offence not recorded 1,694 2,019 1,222 797 838 1,009 852 759 636 378 348 144 
			  
			  Female 
			 Remand 587 735 752 669 773 998 1,072 951 1,001 902 891 874 
			  
			 Violence against the person 101 116 105 99 113 132 138 138 150 124 160 165 
			 Sexual offences 4 7 7 7 3 3 4 7 4 11 9 6 
			 Robbery 40 39 41 38 45 104 117 76 61 68 56 64 
			 Burglary 32 42 53 56 68 86 101 75 74 54 49 67 
			 Theft and handling 149 197 214 178 185 276 275 214 169 180 114 124 
			 Fraud and forgery 22 25 21 19 17 24 33 39 96 68 69 79 
			 Drug offences 124 166 168 152 187 174 171 188 203 163 196 144 
			 Motoring offences 6 6 5 6 6 7 12 5 3 3 6 3 
			 Other offences 87 112 127 97 107 122 161 152 167 149 145 138 
			 Offence not recorded 22 25 11 17 43 70 59 56 74 83 87 84 
			  
			 Immediate custodial sentence 2,063 2,366 2,431 2,659 2,897 3,336 3,474 3,449 3,476 3,506 3,345 3,524 
			  
			 Violence against the person 391 420 429 410 443 538 506 603 638 678 687 775 
			 Sexual offences 8 16 17 20 25 23 26 27 38 37 48 47 
			 Robbery 161 177 157 195 250 314 407 392 343 315 311 295 
			 Burglary 101 118 158 158 154 239 240 247 238 228 197 203 
			 Theft and handling 334 395 390 507 452 461 494 416 410 435 374 462 
			 Fraud and forgery 121 119 111 131 130 119 115 126 173 236 227 295 
			 Drug offences 691 794 875 947 1,137 1,317 1,342 1,235 1,234 1,163 1,044 990 
			 Motoring offences 28 26 21 37 44 36 59 39 39 33 31 22 
			 Other offences 162 191 199 185 200 225 251 320 335 352 392 418 
			 Offence not recorded 66 110 74 69 61 63 35 45 29 30 35 16 
			 (1) Comparisons by offence group with previous years figures should be made with caution due to further quality assurance of the data introduced for June 2005 onwards. The major difference is in the reduction of the 'offence not recorded' category of the remand population.

Prisons: Visitors

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisons in England and Wales have a visitor centre on site or in the immediate locality; and how many of these centres are managed by the third sector.

David Hanson: The information requested is currently being collated. I will write to the right hon. Member once the information is available and will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Security Guards: Prosecutions

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 30 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1301-02W, on the Security Industry Act 2001: Prosecutions, if he will break down the figures for Wales on a sub-regional basis.

Maria Eagle: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, in Wales, broken down by police force area, 2004 to 2006, can be viewed in the following table.
	Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform cannot be broken down further on a sub regional basis within any part of England and Wales. Police force area data have therefore been provided.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, in Wales, broken down by police force area, 2004( 1)  to 2006( 2,)( )( 3) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Police force area  2004  2005  2006  2004  2005  2006 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 — 3 1 — 3 
			 Gwent — 12 27 — 12 12 
			 North Wales — — 11 — — 7 
			 South Wales — 54 30 — 19 20 
			
			 Wales 1 66 71 1 31 42 
			 (1) Licensing under the Private Security Industry Act commenced, on a phased basis, in 2004; as a result there is no data from 2001 to 2003. (2) These data are on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit